


Untold Story

by Elaurel



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M, Fantasy, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-09-12 08:28:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 49
Words: 82,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9064177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elaurel/pseuds/Elaurel
Summary: This is a story within a story. A story about a girl who was always there, but never noticed. A member of the family that went unnoticed due to some... differences. Poppy was completely different from the rest of the Cullen family, but also some what the same. She was a mix of the two worlds that occupy this universe. She is part vampire part werewolf, a hybrid. This is how her story contributes to the one of the most famous Bella and Edward Cullen story.





	1. Chapter 1

The obnoxious sounds of students passing by, lockers slamming, car engines starting fill Poppy's ears. There was something about the way this place smell that made her skin crawl. She was an old pro that could ignore the delicious smell of humans blood, but what was left was the fumes from cars mixing with the strong scent of cleaning supplies. If it wasn't the smell that annoyed her it was the usual stares from the student body that irritated her. She had to admit that she did look extremely different than anybody from the dread town of Forks had seen. Her dark midnight hair, sometimes giving off the look of an oil slick, fell past her thighs almost to her knees. She had a body that could stop a truck with curves in all the right places, olive skin that looked as though it was covered in gold shimmers, grey almond eyes that drew everyone in. If it wasn't her looks that made people stare it was her chosen attire that drew the attention. A pair of black creepers replaced her feet, tight black pants hugged her legs and hips. She wore a loose fitting galaxy sweater with a leather jacket over. Her skin was clear of foundation, but her lips were perfectly covered in her favorite black lipstick. People in Forks weren't used to someone with her type of style as well as someone as beautiful as the Cullens. 

Suddenly she hears a certain locker close and a familiar scent inch its way closer. She climbs on her motor cycle and starts the engine before Bella even comes down the stairs of the school. Poppy was on Bella duty today since the rest had to take the day of to feed. Due to Poppy's 'difference' she was the only one fit to be in the crowd of humans without springing into a killing spree. Once Bella climbs down the steps Poppy goes immediately in front of Bella. Surprised Bella jumps, "You scared me. What are you doing here?" Poppy was the only one in the family that didn't go to school for reason that included her already having a PhD in medicine. ' _There is no reason for me to go when I already went through this crap for centuries!_ ' was what she would always say to Carlisle. 

"I'm here to pick you up. Edward said your truck was acting up so I'm fixing it at the house." Bella squints her eyes which makes Poppy sigh, "I'm not doing anything extra ok. I'm not Edward or Emmett. All I want to do is fix the engine ok." She hands Bella her helmet and soon enough they're on the road. Though out the ride Bella can't help, but remember the day she met the family, or more specifically Poppy. After the food fiasco downstairs Edwards had brought Bella to Poppy's room which was the attic. Carlisle had it especially remodeled with soundproof walls since Poppy wasn't shy about playing her music. 

"Are you sure this is alright?" Bella asked as Edward was about to knock. 

"It's fine I promise. Poppy'll be pissed if I didn't introduce you to her." He knocks softly once and in an instant the door swings open. Bella glances in to see blue walls that were made of the sound proof material. There was nothing but a day bed, bookshelf, and desk. The one thing that stood out was the ballet bar on the right side of the room, attached to several floor length mirrors. Poppy was dressed in a black leotard with loose fitting grey shorts on. With her hair pulled back and her face completely exposed, Poppy took Bella's breath away. "Bella this is my sister Poppy. She's the doctor that I always tell you about." Poppy smiles and takes a deep breath.

"Hmm you aren't really my type unfortunately." Poppy says," You smell good, but eh." Edward shoots her a 'really?' look and Bella grins awkwardly. 

"Its nice to meet you since you don't go to school." 

"Yea well it would've been a pleasure seeing Edward fall all over you, but I guess it wasn't meant to be." Poppy's smile turns into a smirk then fades into an irritated pout. "Looks like Emmett needs the help of a real women." She moves past the new couple and gracefully makes her way to the stairs. "You love birds have fun." She shouts as she prances downstairs. Her and Bella became extremely close since Poppy was always around when the family wasn't. Especially during those dark times the first few months of Bella's senior year; Poppy was always there watching to make sure she was safe. Bella was also intrigued by Poppy. She knew that Poppy was different, but she didn't know how or why. All anyone told her about the difference was that she was the only one of her kind.She knew that one day she would find out so Bella kept quiet and wait for Poppy to finally open up. 

Once they were at the house they went straight to the garage. Bella knew little to nothing about car, so she oversaw what Poppy was doing. Poppy was extremely intelligent in almost every subject and knew almost everything about everything. As Poppy was teaching her about spark plugs Bella couldn't contain her curiosity, "How are you so smart?" Poppy smirked and unscrewed something.

"I haven't been around as long as the rest of my family, but I've been around long enough to learn plenty of things." She emerged from under the hood and straightened her back. Examining the spark plug in her hand she continued, "When there was an opportunity to learn something I took it." She looked at Bella and smiled.

"So do you think you know everything?" Poppy shook her head.

"There is plenty I don't know. Especially when your stuck in a certain age gap." Poppy was turned when she was 16 years old, but has been around since the late 50s. Which is another reason why she didn't like to go to school. "Ok that should do it." She closes the hood and wipes her hands on a blue rag. The girls spend about 30 minutes talking until the clan return and Edward takes Bella home.

After the love birds leave, Poppy goes straight to her room. Switching on her stereo and changing she begins to practice on her bar. She's been dancing since she could remember; in fact the last thing she can remember from her human life is dancing. With two types of species coursing through her veins Poppy had a hard time remembering the early years of her actual life. The furthest she could go is about a year before she was killed. It never bothered her however it did make her a little sad sometimes, but then she'd get Emmett or Jasper to play around with. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, "Come in." Poppy whispers. Carlisle pops his head through the door and shines his amazing smile.

"Am I disturbing you?" Poppy returns his smile and shakes her head.

"Not at all. Come in." Entering fully Carlisle closes the door behind him. "Did you need something?" She asks.

"No I just wanted to know if you were feeling ok. The sun was a little stronger than normal today." The only one who knew the extent of Poppy's condition was Carlisle; he was after all the one that saved her.

"I'm fine. A little sore is all, but the full moon is close by so that'll help me loosen up."

"That's good. Are all the preparations being made? If you need anything don't hesitate to ask." She sits on her day bed causing Carlisle to follow.

"Yes everything is fine. You don't have to worry, alright.?" 

"I always worry about what might happen to you out there. Even if you are the one doing the hunting you may never know what else is out there." He places his arm around her shoulder, "I just want you to be safe. You look like a normal wolf in your form so people will think you are just a mere wolf. Who knows maybe a hunter might be out there." She nudges him lightly.

"Don't put that into the universe, crazy." They laugh together as father and daughter. It's true that her wolf form was almost identical to a regular wolf, but she had never ran into anything like the scenario Carlisle was imagining. He was always worried when it was time for her to go on her change. Things were different for her since of her vampire and wolf blood coexisting in her body. She was the same as vampire in every aspect only her feeding methods were different and on full moons she had no choice, but to change into her wolf form. Nobody had ever seen her form except Carlisle the day she was attacked. Her life had turned upside down the day she decided to leave the grasp of the Volturi. Then again her life has always been a upside down. 


	2. A Glimpse into the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is a tiny chapter giving a little back story on how Poppy came to be in the Volturi as well the past love of her life. Hopefully its readable.

From the beginning of her second life Poppy was a wanderer that was stuck on the streets. Her maker was some passerby that was in desperate need of a companion. Unfortunately he didn't think that Poppy was suitable to be his eternal companion after all. Without anything in hand she set out on her own traveling, learning, and taking care of herself for a couple of years. One night a feeding went bad and she was on the run from some crazy Jesus human, who thought she was a demon, when she was saved by Alec and Jane. Poppy though Jane was going to kill her right there, but Alec stopped her. Poppy remembers being taken to Aro who gave off the scariest feeling of power. His scent smelled of nothing else, but power and competence. She had never been more scared in her life than when Aro took her hand lightly. As he saw everything that Poppy was he looked at her with astonished and curious eyes.

"Where is your maker, child?" he asked still gripping her hand.

"I-I don't know. He left me after a year together." He tilted his head to the side and brought his hand up to her cheek, caressing it softly.

"Aw you poor girl." Aro turns to look at Marcus and Caius, "What do you think gentleman?" He turns to Poppy, "Should we let her stay with us. I believe she would make an excellent addition to the family." They both nod knowing that if they were to insist the opposite Aro wouldn't hesitant to get rid of them. "Would you like to stay here, dear?" Poppy felt uneasy about the whole situation, but she was so terrified that they would kill her if she had said no. There was something so off putting about how Aro stared at her; like she was some sort of prize he had just won. Poppy nods slowly which makes Aro's sinister grin break into a huge smile, exposing his pearly whites. He motions to his left and Alec comes to her side taking Poppy's arm softly. "Please, Alec, escort her to the vacant living quarters in the first wing. We'll get to know each other more tomorrow my dear." With that she was lead to an extravagant room that must have been bigger than two master bed rooms put together. With no words Alec left the room quietly which made Poppy even more uncomfortable. She would've been lying is she had said she didn't find Alec attractive. With his short dark chestnut hair and dark mysterious eyes.

Throughout her first months with the Volturi she was made Aro's favorite since he was the one that discovered her power; the power to enchant people with her voice and eyes. Poppy had never noticed them, but she did recall how easy it was to lure in humans when she was on the streets. She began to use it more and more making it grow with in her. As she used it more she was able to see how Aro cherish her power, not her. But still it was nice to have a warm home and bed. She rarely ran into problems, but there was a tense atmosphere that surrounded Jane and Poppy. Ever since Aro had taken a liking to Poppy, Jane has hated her with a passion. She never acted on her hate, but she made everyone around aware of her hatred. Her twin however, Alec, was completely taken in by Poppy. After about a decade of trying to ‘court’ her she finally gave in, “What are you trying to do?” she asked as he hovered over her. She was studying in the library for her medical finals. Aro had also given her permission to attend school as a teen prodigy.

“I just want a chance with you.” Alec placed his hand over hers gently. It sent chills down her spine and she fought the urge to smile.

“What does that even mean?” He sighed loudly and collapse on the chair next to him.

“I’m trying to court you ok. Do you know how long I’ve been sending you these signals, woman?” Bursting out into laughter she covered her mouth with her book. “Why are you laughing?”

“Courting… it sounds so funny. Ok old timer.” She said between laughter. “You could’ve just asked me out or something. I’m pretty dense when it comes to these things.”

“Yea no kidding, so do you want to go out?” She put her book down and placed her hand on his.

“I guess.” After that they dated for a long while until she left from the Voturi which was caused by a terrible fiasco. But since her life with the Cullens began she was able to put the heart break of losing a family and a lover behind her. She was able to be herself without worry about letting out the other side of her in fear of getting killed. Carlisle made sure she was taken care of.

*********

With the full moon hours away Poppy gets her things ready. The normal plan is for someone to take her to the bus stop so that she can go two towns over, but with sudden weather changes she had to remain close to home. Carlisle suggested she go to the woods next door that were dividing Cullen and Quileute territory, "Its pretty quite in there except for the animals, you should be safe there." 

"I've been doing this for a long time." 

" **We** have been doing this for a long time." Esme says while folding Poppy's change of clothes. The rest of the plan was for someone to leave a car parked outside the north side of the woods with extra clothes, a bottle of water and coffee. Poppy smiles sweetly at her adopted mother. "And Carlisle is right. Its important for you to be safe. Why don't you make this your place, huh." Poppy sighs and collapses on the floor in her room. Carlisle and Esme and the only ones in house while the rest are out on Bella watch. With the Victoria sightings and crazy nomad passing through her house, everyone was on edge. This full moon didn't do anything to help the house calm down. 

"The forest further away is safer for everyone. I told you guys I could do this alone. Shouldn't you be resting?" The couple laugh which puts a smile on Poppy's face. "You old timers are so strange." She was extremely worried about Bella and the others. There was no helping her nerves with that, but she just didn't want to give them any other things to worry about. Everyone was overloaded with work and this full moon was like a curse that was weighing on Poppy's heart. "Since I'll be walking myself it'll be easier. So I'll be fine. You guys should really go rest or do something else."She knew that there was no other way for the to rest since their immortal bodies were built to take on an army, but she needed to settle her own heart. Carlisle sensed her distressed and went Esme's side.

"Lets go get the car ready for tomorrow." Pulling Esme along Carlisle steps out of the door way, but stops to look back at Poppy, "Be careful out there." with that he leaves with Esme holding Poppy's extra clothes. Carlisle knew all to well how hard it was for Poppy's body to go through the changes. Witnessing something like was honestly the most horrific thing he's seen any of his child go through. But he knew that Poppy wanted protect the others from the sight as well as make sure she wasn't near enough to hurt any of them. Their blood smelled like sweet candy to Poppy and the scent intensified when she was in her full wolf form.

Two hours before the full moon come out Poppy set off for the woods Carlisle suggested. If she likes the way the grass felt and the experience went smoothly enough she might consider making her normal forest. As she walked deeper into the vast cover of fog and mist she could see a tree and boulder standing alone about five feet away from where she entered. The eerie feeling of the full moon began to set in meaning it was time to run. Taking off into a sprint Poppy focuses on the boulder taking in the jagged curves and grayish, green tint, the way it touched the tree slightly making the truck curve with it. Her sight began to waver like a camera trying to focus on a certain object, then the first bone breaks. Poppy drops to the floor in pure agony as she feels her legs began to break and reform into something else. She crawls and screams trying to get away from something that is inescapable. One after another bones break and reform; the sound is something like the cracking of knuckles and the moving of broken glass. It feels as though Poppy's whole body has been dunked in a tub of dry ice. The feeling of hot smoking cold takes a hold of her vampire face and turns her lips a pale blue. Her screams have seized completely taken whole by the pain she stares blankly at the boulder in front of her; her body twitching and bending into her wolf form. Like a gentle breeze the dry coldness of her transition leave her body. Gently her eyes close and she rolls over to her stomach and goes into a downward dog position. Finally she feels out her wolf form and stretches to out on the nice wet grass. Everything felt right as her paws rubbed deeper into the fertile soil and her silver fur blew in the wind gracefully. Raising her head her grey eyes lock on the full moon asking permission to be free for tonight. To wander and run free from everything. With a single loud howl Poppy thanks the full moon and disappears into the night.   


	3. First Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella finds out what Poppy is and she finally meets Seth... kind of.

The sound of birds chirping wake Poppy from her deep slumber; The ending to each full moon is always a complete blur, but as she wakes up near the same tree and boulder she knows she must've not gone far. Sitting up she takes her time adjusting her eyes and gaining her sense of balance back. Using the boulder she gets up slowly and tries not to fall over. Her legs feel like noodles after a long night of running through the forest. Once she's standing on her own she looks down at her naked body and sees only small patches of dry blood. Recalling the small deer she had for dinner she smirks, "Looks like I need a good bath." Her ears pick up the sound of a flowing stream nearby and she immediately heads in that directions.

Poppy was never scared to walk around naked ever since her first couple months of the cycle. No matter what precautions she took, she always ended up naked. Her and Carlisle even tried leaving clothes hidden somewhere, but the animals always got to them before Poppy. In the end she just got used to the idea of being naked in the forest. After washing up she set out back to where she came and looked for the car. Hiding behind a tree she peaked to see the silver Honda parked by the forest, but it was on.  ‘That’s strange.’ She thinks to herself. Getting low she crawled her way closer to the passenger door. Like a slithering snake she gently peaked and saw Bella looking around nervously. Losing her camouflage she knocks on the window, making Bella jump. She rolls down the window and Poppy leans against door crossing her arms in the open window.

“What are you doing here?” Poppy asks. Bella smiles nervously and tried not to stare at Poppy’s bare chest.

“Uhm Carlisle was getting me worried and he told me where I could wait for you.” Bella says before reaching into the back to grab Poppy’s clothes. “Look I just need to get away from all the worry warts at the house. I know they’re worried about my safety, but a girl can only take some much. Now can you please put something on so that we can go home?!” Poppy burst into laughter as she takes the clothes from Bella and puts them on. She climbs into the car and they head back to the house.

“How did you get the car?” Poppy asks while downing her café mocha.

“I kind of stole it, with Emmett’s help of course.” She glances at Poppy quickly before turning back to the road. “I thought vampires didn’t like human food.” Poppy looks down at the coffee container and traces over the wannabe Starbucks logo.

“I thought they would’ve told you by now.” She whispers.

“Told me about what?” Bella asks. None of the family had ever brought up the fact that Poppy was different from them. They never question her and never wanted to tell Bella. They thought it would be best for Poppy to tell her herself, just like she had with each and every single one of them.

“You know I’m different from the family right?” Poppy says running her hands through her hair in a pathetic attempt to comb it. Bella nods, but keeps her eyes on the road.

“But I don’t know how you’re different.” Poppy takes a deep breath and looks out the window. She was kind of hoping that Edward would’ve spilled the beans before she had the chance to say something. It was never easy for her explain what she was to people. She was always afraid of what their reactions might be to the overwhelming information.

“Well… to put it bluntly I’m a… a hybrid.” She waits, but Bella says nothing so she continues, “I’m a mixture of a vampire and a werewolf.” Again nothing, but silence; Poppy leans back and pulls her sweater hood over her head. “If you’re really freaked out I can stay away from you.”

“No.” Bella say stopping Poppy from continuing, “I’m not afraid of you. This is just not what I was expecting.” Bella chuckles making Poppy look at her oddly.

“Wait I’m confused.”  Poppy says.

“Look I’m not afraid of you. I’m actually very curious about everything.” Poppy looks at her baffled at what she’s saying. Most people were curious, but they would inch away from her in fear. None of them have ever laughed after being told… except for the Cullens. “Can I ask you questions?” Bella looks at her with gleaming eyes like a child that has just found a new toy.

“Sure ask away.” Poppy says laughing. As they pulled up to the house the girl pause their conversation when they see Edward pacing on the porch. "Why don't we wait till you've come clean." Bella sighs as she sees Edward's gaze shoot her down even through the entire car tint. Poppy left the love birds in the garage and headed to the kitchen for something to eat. It was important that she eat something after the change since it always took a toll on her body. With her complex system she didn't know where the actual line was with human food, but she knew that greens and organic meals didn't do any damage. She never wanted to take any chances with trying other foods so she just stuck to simple salads. As she takes the first bite Emmett storms in with his normal goofy grin.

"Hey short stuff!" He yells and goes to ruffle her hair. "How was the run?" Emmett asks.

"Fine, as always. How did the patrol go last night." he sucks his teeth in and sighs.

"We found nothing and no other nomad came by so it was pretty clear last night." As they continued the rest of the family began to stagger in. Bella and Edward were the last to come in as the subject change to the mystery killings in Seattle.

"Well something is obviously going on down there.” Esme says. “There is no other explanation for it other than Victoria.”

“Or the Volturi.” Rosalie adds.

“But if it was Victoria then the Volturi surely would’ve handled it by now.” Jasper says looking at Alice. She looks up at him with a small smile and shakes her head.

“I’ve been watching Aro’s thoughts, but so far nothing concerning us has come through.” She say, “Also if it was Victoria then I would’ve been able to see her decide everything.” The family goes quiet each thinking of any possible explanation for these ‘disappearances’. Ever since Victoria has been around there have been a number of disappearance in the Seattle area. They are conspicuous which makes it even more distressing to us.

“Someone must be making an army.” Poppy whispers. Jasper meets her eyes and they share the same look. They’ve both have had their run in with the southern army’s in the past. Especially Jasper and his connection with Maria, who was the most powerful women in the south back then.

“An army?” Emmett asks, “Why would someone go as far as making an army?”

“An army of what exactly?” Bella asks.

“An army of vampires it seems.” Carlisle answers, “There behavior is it similar?” he asks Jasper.

“Yes… I can’t think of anything else that could cause that much damage.” Poppy finishes her bowl and cleans up after herself.

“What do we do?” Bella asks.

“Well work on it.” Edward says. He looks to Bella with gentle eyes and caresses her cheek. The army was something that needed to be taken care of since they were the closest coven near Seattle. If the army was meant for anybody, it was meant for them. They just needed to be sure.

******

“Why do I have to drop you off over here? Where is Edward? Why can’t Jacob come and get you?” Poppy asks as she speeds through town. This morning she was greeted by Bella and Alice at her door. One thing lead to another and now she is Bella’s personal driver.

“Edward needed a really go feeding today and Jacob was too busy to answer the phone. Beside I never got to ask you my questions.” Poppy sighs and places her left arm on the door, leaving one hand on the wheel.

“You could’ve driven yourself you know. I hate driving cars.” Bella is too busy thinking of her first question to hear Poppy so she doesn’t even give an answer. Instead she goes ahead with her own.

“So why can you eat food?” she asks.

“I don’t know actually. One day after a full moon I was extremely hungry and didn’t know what to do. Originally I thought that I was just thirsty, but blood didn’t help the hunger. So Carlisle insisted that I try to eat human food… so far I can only eat salads and drink black coffee. “ Bella hums in realization.

“Ok do you still shine in the sunlight?” Poppy shakes her head.

“No I don’t sparkle anymore. Going in the sunlight could kill me though; even now it hurts a little.” She glances at Bella and sees the worried expression on her face, “But don’t worry it only works with direct sunlight. And it’s just a theory honestly.”

“Good. I’d feel terrible if I was killing you slowly by having you out today.” They both laugh until Bella goes back to her questions, “How did you become a hybrid?” Bella notices the how Poppy tenses up at the mention of this topic. Honestly it was hard to remember just because this one accident made Poppy lose her first family and first real love. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.” Poppy breaks into a sad smirk and she sighs.

“No its ok, but it’s just it’s a long story and… look we’re already here.” She motions to the ‘Wolf House’ as Poppy calls it. It as a tiny orange house that looked like it was about to fall apart. Poppy had been here only once during Bella’s depressing months. Technically Poppy didn’t have to abide by the treaty rules since she wasn’t a cold one any more. She was the only one who could freely enter Quileute territory. As Poppy parked the car she was greeted by four shirtless guys who looked not to please with her being there.

“What are you doing here?” One says to Poppy as she and Bella get out of the car. He’s has more muscle than the others and has one of those faces that makes you think he’s an asshole.

“Relax Paul,” Bella tells them, “She isn’t a cold one.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Another one, who carries a mischievous grin, says.

“Enough.” A loud and father like voice comes from the house. A tall man comes out and stands in front of the line of boys. Poppy notices they all have the same marking on their right arm which makes them all a part of the pack. “You shouldn’t be here. It’ll confuse everyone. ” He says to Poppy.

“Look,” she sighs, “I’m only here to drop her off since nobody came to get her. Where is Jacob?” Suddenly two figures come running towards them. One being Jacob and the other a cute guy that catches Poppy’s attention. She tries to make her staring less obvious, but she can’t help but look at his adorable face. As they get closer she can tell that he must be younger than the rest since he’s a little smaller. Suddenly Poppy’s legs feels as though they were made of Jell-O, her eyes changed from the normal grey to a bright silver, and her heart began to beat extremely fast. Without thinking she turns, gets in the car, and drives off. The whole ride home she grips her t-shirt where her heart is and hold tight. Once she gets home she immediately calls Carlisle at his office.

“What’s the matter?” he says with a concerning voice. Poppy is gasping for air as she struggles to put together a sentence.

“Carlisle it hurts… I can’t breathe.” Her sense suddenly go hay wire making her eyes focus and refocus. Carlisle begins to scream into the receiver, but Poppy can’t hear anything. She takes a deep breath before passing out on the kitchen floor.  


	4. Imprinting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following Seth the night of the full moon where he first sees Poppy’s wolf form.

“Hurry up Seth!” Paul yelled across the yard. This would be the second time that Seth was able to run with the pack. Sam had always wanted to keep Seth at home or in school since he was only 15. The youngest member of the pack was always left behind by his older brothers. Tonight was different however since they were on the hunt for someone important. They needed to help the Cullens look for one vampire by the name Victoria. She was after Bella and had been spilling between their territory and the Cullens.

As Seth shoved the last piece of his ham sandwich in his mouth he ran after his brothers into the woods. After getting about five meters deep into the forest he phases smoothly and lets his sandy brown fur feel the night breeze. Running up to the rest of the pack he listens intently to the plans laid out for the search.

“ _The Cullens said she has been lurking by the edge of our territory more often.”_ Sam says through their mental link. _“Paul, Jared, and I will go directly to the edge. Leah, Quil, and Embry follow closely but stay about six feet away.”_ Sam looks to Jacob and Seth, _“Jacob take Seth to the edge near the main road. That’s supposedly another escape route for her.”_  Seth is excited to hear that he’s with Jacob, even though he knew that their placement is only meant to keep him away from the excitement. He didn’t want to say anything about his ‘mission’ since they’d probably make him go back home and that was definitely not going to happen. With their placements and instructions given the pack splits up. Jacob leads the way to the main road and so far Seth sees only the normal forest animals.

Seth loved to be in his wolf from among the other animals and under the full moon. Every now and then he would glance up at the round rock in the sky shinning down on them. Being out in the open after a long day of school and studying made him fell alive. Suddenly the sound of something approaching rang through their ears.

_“Do you hear that?”_ Seth says. Jacob looks at him and slowly goes over to his side. Since the whole pack was able to hear what was going on with everyone they all became unraveled at Seth and Jacobs situation.

_“Stay calm.”_  Sam’s voice sounded above all the others. The sound of something running at full speed began to grow causing Seth to lower his body in a fighting position. Jacob kept his guard up, but began to growl at the direction of what was coming. They were ready to take the girl down by themselves if they had to, but… only a mere wolf was came out from the brush and into the moon light. Seth’s guard immediately crumbled as her grey eyes looked at him. It was as him she put a spell blocking him from the others voices, but he felt it. The shift of the world changed as he stared at her silver fur blowing in the wind. As if on cue she howled loudly before disappearing into the brush once again. Seth was left in a daze on the cold, wet grass.

“What the hell was that Jacob!?” Seth says as he paces the porch of the Pack House. Jacob had decided to bring him back early after the scene that had just happened.

“Well it looks like you imprinted.” Seth looks at his bugged eyed.

“No! That can’t be true! Wasn’t it a normal wolf?” he sits down on the first step with his head in his hands. Jacob sighs and goes to sit next to Seth; he has only one thing to say, but he doesn’t know if that will make things any better.

“If you did indeed imprint, “Jacob begins saying, “then that means that she wasn’t just an ordinary wolf. She was something else… like a human or one of us.” Seth looks up at him with uncertain eyes.

“You think so?” Jacob nods. “That would explain how she was able to cut me off from your voices.” It makes Seth feel better that it wasn’t just some random wolf that he imprinted on. There was no doubt in his mind that she was a human or something else that gave her the power to change form. Now that he was tied to her he knew that when she was closer he’d be able to point her out no matter what. Seth was determined to find her… especially since she was now the love of his life. 

*****

Two days after the imprint Seth began to get restless. He needed to see her again even if it was for a second. He had been held up at home until he was able to escape to the Pack House. He needed somebody to talk to that knew what was going on inside his head. As he ran through the yard Jacob came running out the screen door, “Didn’t I tell you to wait?” Jacob says to Seth.

“I can’t help it. I feel like I’m going crazy! I feel her you know… It’s like she’s so close that I can just reach out and grab her.” Jacob wasted no time and took Seth on a run, a patrol of the area. He knew that he needed to get Seth moving, to take his mind off what was going on in his head. His confused and heart wrenching state was gnawing at the packs heads. With their link so tight they could feel how helpless he felt. Those feelings mixing with the constant pain of the Sam/Leah/ Emily thing it was becoming extremely hard to take. Even Quil was moping around the house looking for some relief. They ran and ran until Jacob recalled the fact that he was supposed to pick up Bella this morning.

“I’m sorry we have to go back.” Jacob says after the shift back. Seth throws his signature smile which makes Jacob return it.

“It’s okay. I feel much better now.” Jacob ruffles his hair gently, “Hey can I go with you to get Bella?” Nodding Jacob and Seth take off to the house. As they inch forward Seth’s legs begin to move faster than ever. He smells something so familiar that it reminds him of that night. Then the sting appears… the string that pulls him to his soulmate makes him run faster than he has ever run before; even Jacob was barely able to catch up. Rounding the corner they see Bella and one of the Cullen girls standing in front of the house. That’s when it hits him even harder than that night. Seeing her beautiful grey eyes and raven black hair makes Seth want to drop to his knees. Jacob catches him before he touches the ground.

“Hey pull yourself together ok. Right now just mask it as best you can.” He shakes him a little before letting him run off again. They join the line of guys and Jacob notices the Cullen girl staring intently at Seth before she turns around and gets in the car. The guys all look at Seth while she drives away making Bella tilt her head in curiosity. Seth stares after the car until Paul breaks the silence.

“You can’t be serious!?” Everyone, but Seth, snap their head in his direction. “But she’s a vamp isn’t she?” Paul turns to Sam, “This can’t be possible.” Sam sighs and rubs on hand over his face.

“Looks like it is.”


	5. Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cullens figure out why Poppy had that crazy reaction. The pack think of ways to keep Seth from losing his cool.

A bright light shines in Poppy’s eyes as she comes back from the blackness. Her body had finally calmed down, but she felt as though she’d been hit by a truck. As the light goes from eye to eye Carlisle voice becomes clearer to her ears.  
“Poppy? Poppy dear can you hear me?” Blinking a couple times she focuses past the light on Carlisle worries face. His brown eyebrows were focused and frowned. His piercing golden eyes were filled with worry as he looked at Poppy. She closed her eyes and the light was taken away. “She’s back.” Carlisle says to the house. She was lying on the kitchen floor, feeling the cold tile hug her skin she groaned. Poppy sat up and placed her head in her hands.   
“Are you okay?” Esme says going immediately to Poppy’s side. She lightly tucked Poppy’s hair over her ear and rubbed her head soothingly. “What happened?” Poppy sighed as she remembers the feeling in chest before she passed out. Grabbing her shirt where heart laid she looked up at Carlisle in confusion.   
“I think something weird is happening with my body.” He went to kneel by her again, but Poppy immediately shot up to stand. Her senses finally back to the norms of a vampire. “Something strange is happening to me.”   
“Yes I suspected something was going on.” Carlisle said. He went and got her a glass of water, “Now just tell me exactly how this happened.” Poppy told them everything from dropping of Bella to passing out once she got home.  
“It was like me transforming without running or my bones breaking.” They had moved to the living room to hear her story in detail. “My heart was the source of the pain though… the instant I looked at that wolf kid. What do you think?” Crossing her legs on the couch she waited patiently for Carlisle to process the whole story.  
A couple of minutes had gone by before he finally spoke, “Your heart sounds normal for it being the day after your run.” Poppy’s heart was probably the most complex thing in her body. After she was bitten by a werewolf her once dead heart had come back to life. It was as though it got jumped started by the wolf’s venom. It moved faster than humans, but fluctuated depending on her feeding schedule. Once Poppy goes and drinks blood it’ll begin to slow its beating down. Complicated stuff. “You said you looked at a… boy,” He turns to Esme nervously, “when this started happen. Has anything like this happened with other… boys?” Thinking to herself Poppy looks off into the distance.   
“No…never; not even with Alec.” Carlisle sighs and chuckles a little. “What?”   
“Well if I were to make an educated guess then it would be you found your… mate.?” Taken aback Poppy scrunches up her face.   
“No that’s impossible… that doesn’t make sense.” She begins to laugh until the words settle in a little more. “Oh my gosh Carlisle what does this mean? Do you think that that’s the only possibility? He shrugs and looks at Esme. She sits next to Poppy and lightly pats her on the head.   
“Dear you’re the first hybrid we’ve ever heard of. We’re learning new things about you every day, so with your complex body,” she glances at Carlisle and sighs, “We don’t exactly know how your body works. It’s too complex for your father’s machines.”   
“Besides it’s just a guess.” Carlisle interjects. “I could be completely wrong.” Looking at her parents Poppy felt unsettle about this whole situation. She gotten used to her body decades ago with the first change, but with the second it seemed as though it was always changing. Bringing her closer to the edge with every adjustment.   
****  
Seth, once again locked in his room, paced the floor anxiously. The guys did nothing, but watch him as he went from one edge to the other. Quil and Embry sat attentively on Seth’s twin bed while the others went on the scheduled run. Jacob had gone to take Bella back home after the whole broken hand thing. Sam made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want Seth to go anywhere until they were able to make sense of the situation. Being that Poppy, the Cullen chick, was Seth’s soulmate. The fact that she was a wolf too made Seth even more confused.  
“That’s it!” Seth screams. He lunges for the door, but the guys grab ahold of him, pinning him to the ground. “I need to see her!! I need answers!” Picking up they tossed him on the bed and stood at either ends of the bed, making it impossible for him to escape.   
“These were Sam’s orders kid.” Quil says crossing his arms.  
“Just lay there until they get back.” Embry looks down at the clock on the wooden night stand, “Should only be a couple more hours.” Seth felt his heart slowly deteriorating as time went by. For some reason he needed to talk to her, look at her, hold her. He felt like complete shit because of the fact that he hadn’t even said one word to her before she took off. Seth sighs melodramatically as he rolls around on his bed.   
Seth’s room was normal for a 15 year old boy with a bed, desk, and TV. His walls were a pure white that collided with the dark wood for his furniture. The desk was cluttered with book, papers, and graded assignment. It was well organized and as clean as possible which set him apart from his brothers. The only thing untidy was the small laundry basket, almost reaching its capacity. He often thought about moving his set up around, but never took the initiative to do so.   
After about two hours of waiting Seth finally heard the growls and running of his abductors. He knew that this was a huge shocker to everyone, but that didn’t mean that they could take her away from him. It’s happened… Seth had imprinted on the Cullen girl and there was no changing his heart. This was what the ancestors wanted; what they knew would work out for the good of the tribe. The blood of his people were the ones who chose her for him out of every girl on the reservation, or every girl out there. They chose her. He didn’t understand what they wanted to accomplish by keeping him from her.   
Suddenly Sam comes into Seth’s room, “Come on. We’re going to Billy’s.” He sighs as he stares at Seth obviously listening to his thoughts. “He’ll know what to do.” For once in their lifetimes Billy didn’t know what to do. He had never heard of such a thing.  
“She is a cold one though.” He says. They were all sitting down at the small table in his tiny kitchen. Seth’s mom, Sue, sat right next to him listening attentively to the conversation.   
“No she’s not. We all heard her heart beating. It was an unusual type of beating, but it was for sure a working heart.” Sam says. Seth hadn’t said a word during the few minutes they had been here. Sam did all the talking for him since their link provided all the information Sam needed. “I think she might be something different than them, but I’m not sure what.” Billy looked at Seth with sad eyes.   
“I can tell that this is real, so there is no stopping it.” Seth perks up a bit, “But you have to be careful since we don’t know what she is. Now all we need to worry about is how we’re going to introduce you two.” Feeling extremely pleased Seth spent the night thinking about a plan to finally meet his soulmate.   
****  
Walking out of her room Poppy pranced down the stairs and headed to the kitchen. Hearing all the commotion about Bella’s hand she couldn’t concentrate on her dancing. After the talk with Carlisle and Esme she needed a release that could only be satisfied with dancing. With all the thoughts running through her head she wanted to free herself once more. As she walks closer she sees Bella’s bandage hand and Edward’s black eyes making her giggle, “Looks like you gave Jacob a good sucker punch.” She says. Bella smiles at Poppy warmly.   
“Yea well at least I didn’t do this to myself.” Laughing the girls continue their banter until Bella remembers this afternoon. “Hey what happened to you at the Pack House?” Freezing in her movement Poppy debates on whether or not she should answer honestly. As she debates she hears Edward laugh to himself on the couch.   
“Shut up Edward.” She says simply. “Don’t say anything.”   
“Just tell everyone already. I mean it is kind of a big deal for you to have found your mate.” He blurts out.  
“Edward!” Poppy screams causing everyone to cover their ears. A sharp sound ringed Poppy’s voice as her powers began to slip. Bella, the only one not affected, goes to her side immediately.  
“You’ve found your mate?! Wait… then where is he?” Poppy sighs for the thousandth time today and walks to the couch. Before she has the chance to sit down everyone is already sitting in their dedicated spots. Alice and Jasper snuggled in the corner of the sectional; Emmett sitting in the lazy boy with Rosalie on his lap across from Bella and Edward in the middle. Esme sat between Alice and the edge with Carlisle standing by her side. Poppy sat on her love seat at the opposite corner of the other couple. She crossed her legs and rested her chin on her knees.   
“It’s really complicated guys. And the whole mate thing is only a theory.” She meets each of their eyes, “Carlisle and I haven’t figure out what exactly went wrong with me.” Poppy spilled everything just as she had with Esme and Carlisle. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. They had never thought that this was capable of happening.   
“A hybrid with a shape shifter; what an interesting mix.” Edward says.  
“What do you mean shape shifter?” Bella asks.  
“The Quileute tribes are shape shifters. That’s why they can shift during the day. If they were actual werewolves they’d only be able to shift on a full moon like Poppy.” Bella makes an ‘o’ face and turns back to Poppy.  
“Who did you look at? Which pack member is your mate?” She asks. Poppy shrugs lightly.  
“He was the one that ran up with Jacob… the small cute one.” Bella thought back to the afternoon and instantly opens her mouth in awe.  
“You mean Seth! Seth Clearwater!?” Poppy simply shrugs not knowing any of those guys names, which made her feel even weirder about this situation.


	6. Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not my best

“I’ve never talked to a girl before.” Seth blurts out to Jacob. The pack had decided to do another patrol early this morning and let Seth come along to keep his mind occupied for the time being.

“Ok and…” Jacob and Seth were monitoring the perimeter that lead to the road in their human forms to get a closer look. Victoria had been known to stay near the edge just in case she needs to switch territories quickly. Just one hop across the street and she was in the Cullens land.

Seth had been going crazy these past few days trying to make a plan to meet Poppy. Every plan ended up in a really awkward situation. He thought that his role model, Jacob would know how to approach her without coming off creepy. “I just need some advice.” Seth says leaning up against a tree, “You don’t know what it’s like, Jacob. Being so far away yet so close to her… it hurts a lot.” Jacob looked at the younger with sympathetic eyes. Walking towards him Jacob keeps his eyes on the other side of the woods.

“Look Seth, I know how much it hurts you to be away from her.” Jacob says.

“Oh really how would you know?”  Jacob chuckles and sits down next to Seth’s feet.

“Cause we’re linked up; we all are. We’re all feeling how you’re feeling.” Seth sits down next to him and crosses his legs. He had forgotten how the whole packed linked up and didn’t even think about the pain that he must be causing his brothers and sister.

“I’m sorry.” Seth says putting his head down like a child getting yelled at. Jacob smiles and puts his arms around his younger brother’s shoulders.

“Ahh don’t be kiddo. It’s nothing compared to what your sister gives us every day. Besides you can’t help it.” At that instant Jacob thought of the perfect meet up plan. “I’m a genius.” He says out loud.

“What?” Seth looks at him with his brows furrowed together.

“I know how you can meet Poppy without it being weird.” Seth’s face lights up and he immediately becomes giddy like a middle school girl receiving a love letter.  “Alice is throwing a graduation party and Bella invited me.” Suddenly something moves in the woods in front of them. The boy’s ears both notice it and switch their gazes forward. “You can come with me and meet her then.”  Getting up slowly the both begin to back up from the open space and into the shadows of the forest.

“Sounds like a plan.” Seth says. Slowly they go deeper and deeper into the wood preparing themselves to change at any moment. As if in slow motion they catch the glimpse of her red hair coming towards them at a rapid pace. Instantly they transform to their wolf forms and begin the wild goose chase.

****

The soft sounds of Tchaikovsky played through Poppy’s room. She never got a chance to dance in front of an audience, but sometimes she like to imagine that she was on stage; dancing elegantly as Odette while Rothbart casted his evil spell. Swan Lake was her favorite ballet that would always have a special place in her heart. As she rounds up the performance she is applauded unexpected by a pair of damaged hands. She looks to her door way to see Bella clapping awkwardly with her dressed hand.

“Wow you’re amazing.” She says walking closer. “I hope you don’t mind me coming in here. It’s kind of crazy with all the party decorating going on down there.” Poppy nods with a small smile. Alice always went a little overboard with the decorating and demanding everyone to do the same.

“It’s fine. I’m glad to save you from the dictator.” Poppy turns her stereo down and sits on her bed. She undoes her tight bun and let her hair fall down. “So are you happy you finally graduated.” Nodding Bella goes to sit in the desk chair at Poppy’s side.

“Yea.” She sighs, “It’s just the next step on the road to my change.” Poppy had never voiced her opinion on Bella’s decision to become a vampire. She felt it wasn’t her place to object her decision since Bella had the right to do as she pleased. Even if Bella was making a stupid decision Poppy would always stand beside her. “Can I ask you something?” Bella says picking at her cuticles. Poppy nods and waits for Bella to gather the courage to ask the question. “How did it feel when you found your mate? Like do you feel something now?” Poppy was taken aback by the question. After the talk everyone got too busy to even think about the whole mate thing. Now that Poppy was thinking about it there were some new feelings that began to surface after the incident in the kitchen.

“Well when I first saw him it felt like my I was going to change into a wolf. It was like I wasn’t in control of my body even though it was daylight. Afterwards when I was leaving my heart felt like it was about to break.” Remembering the feeling gave Poppy the goose bumps and she shivered ever so slightly. “Now I feel extremely restless; like there’s something missing. But it makes me feel like I’m crazy since I’ve never even talked to him before.”

“You don’t have to worry he is a very nice guy.” Bella says. She sees how Poppy smiles at the comment and keeps the subject up. “Seth is extremely warm hearted and always kind to everyone. You know I invited Jacob to the party maybe he’ll bring Seth tonight.” Poppy’s eyes shifted nervously thinking about the endless possibilities that could come off tonight. Suddenly she felt extremely nervous to show her face at the party. Originally she just wanted to experiment with the party food all night, but now that Seth might show up she had to think of a game plan. Quickly getting up she scurried to her closet to choose and outfit. There was a part of her that didn’t want to get sucked into this whole ‘mate’ thing, but another part of her wanted to be with him. This internal war with herself was something that she never thought she was gonna win, so Poppy decided that if Seth was to make the first move she would follow her heart. If he didn’t give her the time of day she would move past this, no matter how much it might hurt.

The party was extremely dull for Poppy and honestly nothing more than a crazy headache. All the girls were screaming over the music, in their high pitch voices, crying over the fact that their high school life was over. The guys were too busy trying to spike the punch without Carlisle noticing which made him stand by the bowl at all times. Poppy leaned on the wall near the back door, staring at the scene in front of her. Most of the guest had already come up to talk to her seeing as she was the mystery sibling of the Cullens. She was hammered with idiotic questions and remarkable comments about her appearance which made her feel like a freak show. Poppy wasn’t gonna leave the party no matter how annoying the humans were being. She was waiting for one special person to step into the living room, “ _Which might never happen.”_  She thought to herself. It was almost ten-thirty when she finally smelled Jacob and three other guys outside. She turned to the glass door beside her and checked her appearance.

“What are you doing?” Jasper voice suddenly came from beside her. She smoothed over her shirt and took a sip of her water.

“Nothing I’m just looking.” Embarrassed she looked away from Jaspers eyes and into the distance waiting to see the most anticipated guest.

“Don’t worry you look beautiful as always.” She smirks up at Jasper. He always knew how to make her nerves disappear. She never knew if it was the mood control power or just the fact that they were really close. Looking towards the entrance of the living room Jasper motions for her to look at the new arrivals.

“I’m too scared to look.” Poppy says.  He chuckles and gently places his finger on the side of her chin. He slowly turns her head and there in the hall way was the person that made her heart skip several beats. His hair was messy from the obvious form they were just in, his jeans fit his legs perfectly, and his plain dark blue t-shirt hugged his shoulder causing even the older girls to give him a second glance. As Poppy felt her heart increase pace she knew there was no turning away from this. She was stuck to him and if he didn’t even look at her she would be crushed.


	7. Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The graduation party scene where Poppy meets Seth.

Seth was extremely anxious walking into the party at the Cullens. He knew that this was his shot to finally meet his soulmate. He had gone through several different outfits until Jacob decided to dress him normally. He had been killing the pack all day with his internal monologue revolving around nothing but the party and Poppy. Alice was the first to greet Jacob, Quill, Embry, and Seth at the door, “You guys made it!” she exclaimed practically throwing them into the house. Once she grabbed a hold of Seth she gave him the biggest hug she’s ever given anyone. “I know we’re going to be the greatest of friends.” Smiling Seth nodded. He did like the Cullens since they were incredibly nice to him and hadn’t given him any reason to hate them. Another reason would be that they were gonna be his future family, but he kept a lid on that dream for tonight. As they walked closer to the party Seth picked up a familiar scent, the scent of his loved one. Poppy smelled like freshly mowed grass mixed with lemon and sweet melons. The way she smelled made his mouth water and completely intoxicated him, it was almost hypnotizing.  

Then there she was; standing towards the back of the room as if she was trying to avoid the party. Her long hair was down with several curls among the many wavy strands. She wore a black skirt with a matching black, velvet long sleeve shirt that hung off her shoulders. Her heels matched the color of her lips with the dark red tint that imitated the look of fresh wine. As she turned to talk to Jasper Seth could see how her hair glowed in the light making it look almost iridescent. Forgetting everything Seth firmly walked over to her. She turned to look at him with those piercing grey eyes that nearly made him drop to his knees. _“How could she be so beautiful?”_  He thought to himself.

“Hi,” she says pulling Seth out of his own head. “You’re Seth Clearwater right?” Poppy asks with a smile that hid her nervousness extremely well.

“Yea, hi… uhm your name is Poppy right. Poppy Cullen?” he inquired being not sure of her last name.

“Actually it’s Hale, Poppy Hale.” She always told people her last name was the same as Jasper’s just because to her it sounded better than Cullen. The flowing of the name is what mattered to her since she was always introducing herself to someone new. Not questioning it Seth smiles and shifts his weight nervously from one leg to the other.

“Poppy Hale… that’s a cute name.” he whispers. Poppy giggles at the comment and tries to fight the urge to look at the floor.

“Did you want something to drink?” She asks. Seth nods rubbing the back of his head with his left hand; seeing his muscles flex made Poppy blush. She went towards the other side of the room with Seth following. They both kept their distance until some enormous football player came and pushed them closer together. With the sudden collision Seth had unconsciously placed his hand on the small of her back to keep Poppy from falling over. Neither flinched at the sudden contact instead they kept forward with their walk to the snack table. Poppy poured him and drink and he took it gladly.

“Thank you. So did you graduate too or…” he questions. Poppy taking a carrot from the spread thinks about how she should word her response. She knew that he knew about her being a vampire, but she was deathly afraid of seeming ancient to the handsome young man her blood chose for her. Putting all the idiotic things aside she decided to answer as truthfully as possible.

“Well no. I don’t go to school anymore.” He tilted his head to the right slightly making him look like a questioning puppy. Poppy smiled brightly and continued, “I was a child prodigy and got my PhD at a very young age.” Seth is stunned by the information and he nods in understanding. They continued like this for the rest of the party; finding out new things about each other like music, books, and movies. Poppy never though that she would be able to handle a conversation with someone of this century, but with Seth the conversation never hit a dead end. Both were so engulfed in each other making them almost forget that they were at a party. An hour and half went by when they were both called over by Bella and Jacob. Following them outside they saw Carlisle, Alice, Jasper, Edward and the rest of the guys from the pack.

“What’s going on?” Seth asked Jacob. Without thinking Seth put his arm around Poppy, holding her tight. Everyone except the young couple noticed, but decided to leave well enough alone. Looking at Poppy’s happy face Carlisle smiles slightly before hardening his gaze.

“The army is coming here.” Carlisle announces.    

“They’ll be here in three days.” Alice adds.

“Wait… what damn army?” Jacob asks starring at the Cullens in front of him.

“Someone has been creating an army of our kind in Seattle.” Poppy says to Jacob, “From the looks of it there are probably around twenty, but that’s like two human army’s put together.”

“Do you know what they were after?” Embry ask.

“They were passing around Bella scent.” Alice says.

“They’re after Bella!?” Jacob exclaims. “Well what the hell does that mean?”

“It means a big fight with lives lost.” Carlisle says wearing a serious face. Jacob looks at Quil and Embry before turning to Seth. Poppy looks over at Seth with curiosity, but says nothing before turning back to Carlisle. “Ok we’re in.” Jacob states.

“Jacob,” Carlisle say loosening his stare, “are you sure Sam will approve of your decision?”

“As long as we get to kill some vampires.” Jacob whispers not so quietly. Carlisle glances at Jasper and Poppy trying to map out what his plan is going to be.

“What do you think Jasper about having the pack help?” Jasper stares at Jacob and the guys.

“They’ll give us the numbers; new borns won’t even know they exist it’ll give us an edge.” They both look to Poppy and she nods slightly. Deep down she didn’t want to involve the pack since she was scared something might happen to Seth, but in order to protect her family she need to make a wise decision. She needed to be the normal brave Poppy.  

“I think it’ll be smart to have them help.” she says.

“No!” Bella interjects. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.” Smirking Jacob looked at Bella obviously not going to listen to her.

“I wasn’t asking for permission.” He says. “Let’s get going guys.” Embry and Quil are the first to head out.

“We start training tomorrow Jacob.” Carlisle says. He nods and goes to Seth. Smirking with one brow raised he looks at Seth’s arm around Poppy.

“Meet us outside when you’re done.” Nodding Seth watches Jacob leave to go back to the party. Poppy takes Seth hand and pulls him in as well. She didn’t know what to make of their relationship right now, but she was thinking of moving slow with him… if it was possible. They stood in the hallway leading to the front door. Seth had his hands in his pockets continually shifting his weight between legs.

“Can I have you’re number?” Seth blurts out unexpectedly. Poppy laughs at how cute he was acting with the nervousness practically spewing out of him.

“Yes you can. Let me see your phone.” Handing it over quickly Seth couldn’t help but smile massively. He was happy that this hadn’t turned into one of those awkward experiences like what he was imagining. He didn’t think that they were going to hit it off as well as they did. What he was feeling right now only confirmed that he was supposed to be with her. Now that it was confirmed there was nothing that anybody could do. The only problem now was if he had to tell her that he imprinted on her. He needed to talk to Sam about how to handle something like this.

The rest of the night the young couple were messaging each other until Seth fell into an unwanted slumber at around one in the morning. Poppy figured he had fallen asleep and took the rest of the night to think about everything that’s happened. There were things that she hadn’t told anybody in a long time that she might end up having to tell Seth. There were facts about him that would completely surprise him. Not to mention the fact that they were going up against a new born army in three days. _“One thing at a time, Poppy.”_  She says to herself. Going to her bed she sits until morning thinking, worrying, and loving Seth.


	8. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cullens and pack begin to train which makes everyone see how well Poppy and Seth are getting along. Their relationship causes some tension between the pack especially with Paul and Leah. An interesting fact about Poppy comes into the light with the upcoming fight.

Jasper and Poppy had found a really good training spot after the party. It was well hidden, but extremely spacious with lots of cleared out trees. Since the pack has never had any exposure to the different type of vampires they needed to get a lot of work done in these three days. Poppy was the most knowledgeable, under Jasper, about new borns. During the Western days the Voturi were forced to intervene with Maria and her enormous army. That was when she had met Jasper, long ago when he was attached to the Queen of the South and still hunting humans. By the time Jasper had left Maria and found his new family Aro had ‘cleaned’ up the south with Poppy’s help.

“Do you think they’ll actually show up?” Poppy asks Jasper. The whole Cullen clans were already at the training place waiting for the pack to show up. They wanted to get some extra training in before they came so Carlisle insisted they come and hour earlier. Once they were all warmed up waiting was the only thing to do now.

“They should. This fight means protecting everyone in town as well as Bella.” Jasper squats in front of Poppy who was sitting cross legged on the floor. Placing the back of his hand on her forehead he feels her temperature. “Anyway are you sure you’re up to train? It’s already been a couple days since your change and you haven’t feed yet have you?” Poppy smiles and moves his hand away gently. It was true she was feeling a bit run down, but she was determined to help anyway she could.

“I’m fine. I’ll feed before the fight, but not right now.” Even though her body was extremely complex her feeding schedule was the one thing she had the hang of. After all the years of being a hybrid she knew that after a full moon her body would become very weak. So usually after a week she would go out and find something to drink, but since there was going to be a huge battle she had no choice. She needed to feed earlier than planned which added something else to worry about. Poppy hated her feed days because she needed to drink human blood in order for her strength to come back. She had tried to go full vegetarian, but it got the point where she became so weak that she couldn’t even move. With a heavy heart after every full moon she went out of her way to find someone to drink. 

The conversation with Jasper got her thinking about where she should go to feed, but her thoughts came to a halt as an all too familiar scent filled the air. Seth and the pack were close which meant she needed to get up and prepare her body for another session. As the scent of Seth got stronger she couldn’t help but smile to herself. He smelled like fresh rain mixed with sweet strawberries; it took over her hyper active nose making her feel light headed.

Once they saw the first wolf everyone gathered close, “They don’t trust us to be in their human form.” Edward says obviously annoyed. The midnight black one, who was enormous compared to the other, looked at us with piercing eyes.

“They came… that’s all that matters. Will you translate?” Carlisle says to Edward. Looking at each wolf Poppy tried smelled all of them until she finally found Seth. His sandy brown fur suited him well and the fact that he was the smallest wolf made her smile. He glances at her with his beautiful hazel eyes and bows his head lightly.

“Hey, Seth.” She whispers. A wolf with dark silver and black fur nudges Seth making him look away. The silver wolf turns to her with the look of disgust and blocked the young couple’s view of each other. _“Rude.”_ Poppy thought to herself making Edward laugh out loud. Carlisle begins his speech on the plan that they had created last night.

“They want to know how the new borns are different from us.” Edward says. Carlisle looks to Jasper and Poppy motioning for them to come forward and start their explanation.

“New borns are a great deal stronger than us,” Poppy starts, “because their human blood still lingers in the tissue. Our kind is never more physically powerful than in the first weeks of this life.”

“She’s right. That is why they were created.” Jasper goes to roll up his sleeves, “A new born army doesn’t need thousands like a human army, but no human army can stand against them.”

“We have experience with newborns, so we’ll teach you how to defeat them.” Poppy states, “Just listen to us and you won’t get killed.” Little giggles are heard from the family bringing a small smile to her face. Jasper circles around to address the whole lot.

“Now the two most important things to remember are first… never let them get their arms around you they’ll crush you instantly.” Jasper's say. His Texan accent began to become a lot more prominent. “The second… **never** go for the obvious kill.”

“They’ll be expecting that and you will lose.” Poppy adds. “With fighting a new born the more undisciplined they are more dangerous it is. Like any wild animal make sure to take precaution when attacking head on.” The Cullens take turns with Jasper and Poppy, demonstrating how new borns move as well counter attacks to use. At the end Poppy is almost out of breath, but keeps her composure until the pack turns to leave.

Seth lags behind and starts to make his way to Poppy when a growl is heard. A light, almost white, wolf bares her teeth causing Seth to whimper. He looks at Poppy with sad eyes and backs away leaving with the pack. She takes two steps forward wanting to chase after them when she feels her breath quicken. Sitting on the floor she takes deep breaths to try and calm herself.

“You ok?” She hears Bella say.

“Yea I’m fine, just a little worn out.” The Cullens pack up and head back to the house to wind down. On the way home Poppy decides to go out tonight to do a feeding. Carlisle insisted on taking her, but she didn’t want to cause any trouble. “I’ll be fine.” She says to Carlisle and Esme while climbing on her bike, “You both worry too much. I’ll be back for tomorrows training.” With that she was off to the next town.

****

As the pack made their way home Seth tried to get an answer out of Paul and Leah. They had both ruined his chance for Poppy to use to him in his wolf form and hadn’t given him any reasoning behind it. “ _What was up with you to? You know that I’ve already imprinted on her!”_ Seth says as they run to the pack house still in wolf form.

“ _Like hell you are!”_ Leah yells. “ _Do you honestly believe that I’m going to let you be with a blood sucker?_ ” Leah stops her in tracks and looks straight at Seth, “ _How could you imprint on that… **thing** knowing what she was!_ ”

“ _It’s not like I chose this!”_ Seth yells back. “ _The ancestors chose her for a reason. They chose her for me… it’s not like I had a say in any of this, but I’m not going to make a big deal about it. She is in my life now. Why can’t you deal with it?”_ Seth was heartbroken that his own sister wasn’t happy for him. He knew that she had been through a lot of stuff because of imprinting and that she didn’t like vampire, but why couldn’t she put all of that aside for him.

“ _She’s a blood sucker and that’s all she’ll ever be.”_  Paul says. Immediately Seth growls and snaps at him.

“ _Don’t ever disrespect her in front of me!”_ Paul gets low and snaps back, “ _I don’t care what either of you say. Poppy is my soulmate that is never gonna change!”_ Sam gets in between the three of them and growls low making each of them submit.

“ _Enough!_ _Everyone needs to come to terms with this! Seth has imprinted on Poppy and that is final. None of you can change that, so stop acting like children and get over it.”_ He snaps at Leah and Paul before running back in the direction of the house. They all follow not saying a word to each other.  


	9. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy goes on the hunt for blood. The night before the big battle Seth sneaks off to meet Poppy and confesses what is happening with him.

With a nice breeze in the air Poppy drives until she reaches the town entrance sign. Pulling over she covers her bike in a tarp and hides it under some nearby bushes. Her usually feeding ground was Seattle, but she needed a quick trip which meant she’d be heading to Port Angeles. Before taking off on foot she looked around the empty entrance to the simple town of Forks. _“What a cute town.”_ She thought to herself. She had never really taken the time to look around here since she was kind of vulnerable to sunlight. Poppy always had to be careful with what she did around here when she was in her vampire form.

Using almost the rest of her energy she rushed over to Port Angeles at the speed of light. It was only eight when she finally found her way to the city hall of the town. There weren’t many people walking around, so she leaned against a telephone pole waiting for an opening. After about ten minutes of waiting a group of teenagers walked past her wearing blue and silver shirts. Poppy eavesdrops on their conversation and heard that a there was a big football game about to take place. Taking this as her golden opportunity she followed after them. Soon enough the sound of cheers, the smell of humans, and feeling of excitement crowded Poppy’s senses.

Pulling the hood up over her head she hid near the entrance of the game and rested on the side of the building. Poppy knew it would be a mistake going into the actual game and decided to wait for someone to come out; someone that smelled right. Each person she ever fed on had a different scent it was never the same which annoyed Poppy. Usually a vampire has a certain scent that they go after, but not Poppy.  She always blamed it on the wolf blood in her. Suddenly a pretty girl with short hair, piercings, and a Ramones t-shirt catches Poppy’s attention. As the girl walks closer Poppy’s throat tightens and begins to burn. In seconds her killer instincts kick in and she moves away from the wall. Locking in on her target Poppy hums softly which make the girl look up at her. As they lock eyes Poppy continues to hypnotize her until the girl smirks and walks closer. As the distance becomes smaller and smaller Poppy keeps her ears on the people around her just in case someone suspects something. Once she puts her arm around the girl’s waist and the girl puts her arm around her shoulders Poppy looks around to see if anyone is watching them. The coast is clear and Poppy whispers to the girl, “Do you have a car?” Nodding the girl leads Poppy to a little minivan at the back of the parking lot. “Let’s go somewhere more private.” She says to the girl. They both hop into the car with Poppy in the passenger’s seat and head off to a remote location.

Unlike regular vampires Poppy had no venom so the people she bit didn’t turn into vampires or werewolves. Instead of feeling pain when bitten human felt pleasure as Poppy fed on them. The first few time Poppy had to try to force them away from her since they wanted something extra, but now that she’s a seasoned pro erasing their memory does the trick. As the girl drives Poppy stares at her features closely taking in everything about her. She never took things like gender into consideration when it came to feeding. In her crazy days she used to always mess around with women and men alike. There was always something that drew her to women more when feeding; she could never figure out what it was though.

The girl ended up pulling into what looked like an open grazing field. It was completely deserted and dark except for the head lights on the van. “Turn off the car.” Poppy commands. The girl does what she’s told and looks at Poppy with a blank stare. Poppy moves closer to the girl and hums softly causing the girl to scoot closer as well. Slowly Poppy reaches her arm around to embrace the girl. As she places her face in the crook of the girls neck Poppy’s eyes turn a bright red. The smell of the girl’s sweet blood intoxicates her. Opening her mouth to expose her growing sharp canines she sighs in relief and bites down. A moan erupts from the girl as Poppy drinks her blood. Grabbing the back of Poppy’s sweater she throws her head back in ecstasy and isn’t shy about letting her moans slip. It feels as though only seconds have past when Poppy detaches from the girl. Whimpering the girl tries to pull Poppy back, but Poppy holds her face to stare her in the eyes. “Forget this. Forget everything about this night. Go into a deep sleep and only awake when you have forgotten everything.” She seals it as she touches the girl’s forehead with her own. Poppy leans the girl back on the seat and watch her eyes close softly. She locks the doors before jumping out of the car. Stretching like a cat Poppy sighs in relief and begins to make her way back to Forks slowly.

****

With her strength back Poppy has been able to train more efficiently with the wolves giving them more of an accurate interpretation of new born habits in fighting. The pack has been a little hesitant when it came to letting the Cullens see their human forms and especially difficult when it came to letting Seth be close to Poppy. Fortunately Seth and Poppy hadn’t stopped texting and talking on the phone since the night of the party. Even though they had been talking nonstop Seth was feeling a little restless since they hadn’t talked face to face. Seth wanted to see her always and have her in front of him at all times. The night before the battle he texted Poppy wondering where she was.

‘ _Are you at home?_ ’ He sent. Almost immediately she replied.

‘ _Yea, but I’m walking around outside because I feel a little anxious. Why?’_ He smiled down at his phone and instantly got an idea.

‘ _Do you want some company?_ ’ He squirms as he presses send and throws his phone on his bed. Pacing his room he waits for her to reply and tries to think positive thoughts. A second that feels like forever passes by when his phone finally vibrates. Opening the message he sees her reply.

‘ _Yea I wouldn’t mind company. Are you ok to come over? You’re not gonna get in trouble are you?’_ Laughing he types quickly.

‘ _Nah, don’t worry I’ll be fine. Where should I meet you?’_

‘ _I’m like 15 feet away from the house.’_ With a quick okay he packs a few essentials and hops out of the bathroom window. He phases and grabs his backpack with his canine teeth and runs at the speed of light to meet Poppy. As he gets closer her familiar smell clouds his nose and he stops to phase back and change. Walking slowly he pushes through the bushes and trees following her scent. He then comes across a spot completely empty of trees and there she is. Under the night sky he sees her dancing softly with no music. He smiles as he sees the look of pure bliss on her face when she does a ballerina twirl.

“You can come out of the bushes.” She says surprising him. “I know you’re here Seth.” He laughs and jogs gently to the open field; she stops dancing and faces his jogging figure. Dropping his bag he scoops her up in his arms and engulfs her in a huge hug twirling her around. Poppy lets out a giggle and hold on tight until he gently places her back on the ground. Seth keeps his arms around her waist and stares down at her beautiful face. Those grey eyes look back up at him as Poppy lets her hands slide down to his chest. Sighing she looks away and gently escapes from his embrace. “So how’d you escape?” She asked.

“I hopped out the bathroom window.” He was trying his hardest to hide the pain he felt when she left his arms. Poppy went back to dancing softly and Seth did nothing, but watch her in awe. Her little black dress swayed slightly in the wind as she twirled. Her long hair shined as bright as the stars in the neat braid she had it in. Everything about her took his breath away. “Do you always come out here this late?”

“No not really.” Her twirl stops in front of him and she extends both arms to feel the wind. “There’s a storm coming so I wanted to feel the changes.” Without thinking he moves to grab her right hand, gently entwining them. She looks to her hand, which was now holding Seth’s, and then looks at him.

“I have to tell you something.” Seth confesses. Poppy’s heart quickens as she thinks the worst. She hadn’t told him yet what she really was, _‘So he must have found out.’_ she thought. He brings her closer grabbing her other hand. Taking a deep breath he swallows the forming saliva, “I’ve imprinted on you.”


	10. Doctors Actions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their relationship is finalized!! The new born battle takes place and you get to see Dr. Poppy in action. A little note: the chapters after this will be transiotion chpater until we get into the Breaking Dawn universe. So if you follow this story please keep doing so and I love ya'll.

He didn’t mean to say it, but he couldn’t hold it in anymore. Seth felt like she needed know why he wanted to always be near her. Why he was adamant about talking to her. She had said nothing after he blurted the truth about what he was feeling. Poppy looked at him with sad eyes then looked down at their feet.

“That’s impossible.” She sighs. “You don’t know what I am.”

“It doesn’t matter what you are. I’ve already imprinted on you.” Poppy shakes her head and tries to break free from his grip, but he doesn’t let go. “I know you’re something different than the Cullens.” Her head shoots up to look at him in disbelief. “I saw you as a wolf. That was the first time I saw you and the moment I imprinted.” He takes both her hands in his left palm and pulled them up to his heart.

“What did you see?” She asks.

“I saw you as a wolf and once I imprinted I got so scared that it was a regular wolf,” he chuckles softly, “but then I saw you that day when you dropped off Bella. That’s when it hit me hard… seeing you started something in me.” It clicks in her head why she had that freak out.

“It all makes sense.” She whispers. She felt a rush of emotions at once; happiness, fear, love, sadness. “You don’t even know what I am Seth.”

“It doesn’t matter!” He shouts annoyed at the fact that she was trying to change his mind… his feelings.

“It does! I’m a hybrid… a monster that doesn’t know how to control certain things about my own body. Isn’t the point of your imprinting supposed to mean we’ll be able to carry the gene line? I don’t even know if I can have children. What’s the point of this?!” Poppy felt herself losing the grip of her powers and tried to control her voice… but she didn’t know what to do now. How was he able to imprint on her when her entire body was a mystery.

“That’s not the only reason.” Seth whispers. “It means we’re meant to be.” He takes his free hand and tucks a lose strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m still young so kids aren’t even what I was thinking about. All I know is that I imprinted on you when I saw your wolf form, but I fell for you the night of the party. When you told me about how you love to read. When you told me that high school was overrated. When you explain how Shakespeare was making fun of love in Romeo and Juliet.” Tears began to fall from Poppy’s eyes, but Seth caught every one. “I love you for you, not because my ancestors choose you for me, but because the person you are.”  Saying this out loud made everything extremely clear to Seth. It was as if he was confessing to Poppy and himself. He had fallen in love with the strange he imprinted on.

Poppy looked up at him slowly exposing her face to the moonlight. Her beauty took Seth’s breath away each time he saw a different angle. Taking her chin in his hands he slowly lowers his head to place a light, innocent kiss on her lips. She tip toes up and takes him into another hug, “What are you exactly anyways?” He asks. Laughing Poppy tightens her grip on Seth. They spend the night in each other’s arms waiting for tomorrow to come.

****

Hand in hand Seth and Poppy show up to the battle grounds ready to face everyone. Seth had given her a heads up about the packs opinion on their relationship, so Poppy mentally prepared for almost anything. As they walked towards the group Jared was the first to speak up, “Well look who finally decided to show up.” Everyone's gaze meet theirs then down at their entwined hands. Instantly Poppy tries to pull her hand away, but Seth holds tight. He simply keeps his goofy smile on while confidently walking to stand in between Carlisle and Sam. Carlisle looks at Poppy and flashes a gentle smile before addressing them all.

“Alice says they’ll be here in a few minutes. Remember what Jasper and Poppy have taught you and we will be victorious. Seth you should go and switch with Jacob already.” Nodding Seth pulls Poppy aside from the group causing his brothers to start with the teasing.

“Stay safe Pops. If anything happens to you I don’t know what I’d do.” She smirks at his comment.

“Don’t worry about me; who was the one training you these past days.”  She places her hand on his cheeks, caressing it softly. Moving slightly he takes a deep breath memorizing her scent, like a loving puppy nuzzling into its owners hands. “You be careful. Don’t try being the hero ok.” He scoffs.

“Their sending me over there for a reason remember. I’m supposed to miss all the action.” Poppy pulls his ear with little force.

“It doesn’t matter just be careful. Remember what I taught you.” He nods and grabs her hand, pulling it from his ear. He leans down and places a small peck on her forehead. Giving her one last smile he starts for the forest and shifts disappearing from her sight.

“Looks like you’ve finally latched on to my brother.” Leah says from behind Poppy. Not knowing how to take the comment Poppy turns and smiles before going back to the pow-wow. She knew it was gonna be extremely hard for Leah to accept everything that’s happened. Especially since Poppy was taking away her only brother, so she was planning on being patient.

Soon enough the Cullens were lined up waiting for the army to arrive. The atmosphere was tense as the family got into the right mindset. This would be the first time they’ve participated in a fight in forever. They knew with the wolves helping out there was no way that they wouldn’t win. They needed to win this fight not only to save their family, but to save the town they called home. This was it. In a second they take off running towards the army headed towards them. As Poppy hears the first hit she’s another person. Her moves are swift as she delivers hit after hit, taking down each new born in front of her; she doesn’t feel the need to use her powers at all. Her grunts and battle cries become white noise as she hears the loud howls of the wolves once they enter the scene.  They fight alongside each other, putting all their differences aside in order to defeat Victoria’s army. As the rounded up the last of the new borns Poppy suddenly feels a tug on her heart. “Seth!” She cries. Being pulled in both directions, between her family and her love, she delivers a single cry that could be carried to the tops of the mountains. Suddenly Emmett’s arms are around her and the tug is gone.

“We’re done.” He says softly.

“The Volturi, they’re coming!” Alice cries. Jasper and Emmett finish throwing their leftover limbs in the fire and go to their mates. The smell from the fire is like sticky sweet candy which causes Poppy to wrinkle her nose in disgust.

“How long?” Edward asks as he, Bella, and Seth make their way to the field.

A few minute,” she answers, “Maybe ten.”

“The pack needs to leave. The Volturi won’t honor our truce with the wolves.” Poppy goes to Seth as he emerges from behind the boulder in human form.  Suddenly a new born appears surprising everyone, but Leah is the first to attack.

“Leah don’t!” Poppy shouts running to the fight. The new born is ready to snap her neck when Jacob leaps and takes him down. As he tumbles with it, the new born is able to get his arms around Jacob’s waist and crushes his sides. With a piercing cry Jacob collapses on the ground and shifts back into his human form. Sam and Paul catch the new born and tear him apart; they throw his parts into the fire before shifting and coming to Jacobs’s side. Poppy is the first to look at his condition before Carlisle takes over. “His right side is shattered.” She says.

“Yes, the bones on the right half of his body are shatter.” He states.

“Jacob you idiot I had it!” Leah yells. Sam puts his hand up to silence her.

“I need to reset the bones before his healing starts.” Carlisle says examining his whole side.

“We need to get them out of here. We’re not going to win a fight with the Volturi.” Edward says looking up at Sam.

“We’ll take him back to Billy’s.” Sam says. Nodding Carlisle lets the pack come in and scope up Jacob.

“Carlisle…” Poppy whispers. She hadn’t since the Volturi since the day she left and was at a loss for words on what to do.

“You should go with the pack. Get my medicine bag from my office at the house and start working on Jacob. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She nods and without hesitation sprints back to the house. To be honest Poppy didn’t know if the Volturi knew she was alive or not. They never made an effort to find or contact her. All they knew was that she left and she never came back. Being in front of them would bring back memories of that night; the night that changed everything. As soon as she gets to the Jacob’s house she rushes in without warning.

“What are you doing here?” Leah shouts. Ignoring her Poppy goes to Billy and stretches her hands out.

“Hello my name is Poppy Hale. I’m one of Carlisle’s kids and a doctor of many years. I’m here to help your son.” Slowly he takes her hand and shakes it. He glances at Seth and smirks slightly. “Carlisle will be here any minute, but Jacob can’t wait much longer.” Nodding he leads her to a room in the back of the house. Jacob’s body is completely drenched in sweat as he shivers in pain on his twin bed. Kneeling down beside him Poppy opens Carlisle bag and starts by giving him some morphine.

Seeing her work Seth is completely amazed at how skilled she is. Even though his mind was clouded with fear and worry for Jacob, there was a special spot reserved for thinking about how beautiful Poppy is.

“I need to start the resetting.” She whispers to herself.

“What does that mean?” Billy asks. She looks up gently at him and begins to pull her lose hair up in a ponytail.

“Jacob’s bones are healing the wrong way. I need to break them and put them in the right place.” Billy can’t help, but show the sadness on his face as he thinks about how much pain his only son will be in. “After that I’ll be able to bind him so his bones heal properly.” Standing up Poppy places a gently hand on Billy’s shoulders. “I think it would be best if you waited outside.” She looks up at the pack and Seth. “All of you.” Nodding they all head outside, but Seth is a little hesitant until he sees how easily Poppy’s attention goes from them to Jacob. Instantly Carlisle is there helping Poppy. The sunsets to Jacobs screaming as they work hard to put his bones back together. Once they’re finished Carlisle makes haste and exit the house.

“The worst is over. We gave him some morphine, but his body temperature will burn it off quickly. I’ll come back to step up a drip.” Carlisle announces.

“Thank you.” Billy says looking at both Poppy and Carlisle, “Both of you. Thank you so much.” Carlisle shakes his hand as does Poppy. Leaving the porch they pass Bella who has the most pained look on her face.

“He’s asking for you.” Carlisle tells her. Looking back at Poppy, Carlisle takes his medicine bag from her, “Let’s go home.” She looks back and sees Seth starring at her with sad eyes.

“See you later Seth.” She smiles and makes a text motion to him; he smiles gently as he waves. The couple knew that now was not the time to be lovey dovey. Poppy didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable especially since she’d just come from entering the house unannounced. She wanted to give a good impression of herself to the people in Seth's life… which sounded crazy, but to her old school way of thinking made completely sense. As Carlisle pulled out of the driveway Poppy counted the seconds till she would see Seth again.


	11. Unexpected Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night after the battle Poppy has an unexpected visitor that brings up the past. After doing a checkup on Jacob, Poppy and Seth agree on going on a date.

In the dead of night Poppy was sitting on the roof starring at the stars and phasing moon. After everything that happened, the confession, the battle, she felt full. For a long time she felt like an aimless wanderer, but now with how lively her life has been these past months she felt not so lost. There now something that kept her here. The black, vast sky help keep her occupied until she heard a rustle in the woods. Looking towards it she saw nothing, but heard footsteps. “Whose there?” she whispered. Suddenly a hooded figure emerged from the darkness, but Poppy already knew who it was. Standing near the edge she looked down and waited for him to do something… anything. Slowly he jumped and landed gracefully on the roof. She looked back to him as he took off his hood, “What are you doing here, Alec?”

His cold stare met hers and sent shivers down her spine, “I can ask you the same question.” Obviously Poppy still found him quite attractive with his dark brown hair, tall stature, and simple lips; she was always drawn to him. Since the beginning he was livelier and less sadistic than any other member of the Volturi. Alec nevertheless proved to be just as ruthless and self-interested as the rest of them. He can be considered the "sane" other half of Jane, looking at him from Volturi standards. He shows no remorse for taking anyone's life and carrying out the Volturi's frequently violent missions. There's a quiet confidence about him that, given his readiness to kill, is usually terrifying. “I’m quite surprised to see that you’re here.” Poppy’s heart begins to race and he steps back obviously confused about what he’s hearing.

“Why are you here? I thought things were cleared up with Carlisle.” She tries to mask it, but it’s too late.

“Poppy what is that sound?” He closes in on her rapidly and reaches his hand out to touch her. Slowly he places his hand over her chest and feels her warmth, her heart beat. Looking up at her he takes a deep breath, “What is this? Why, how are you alive?”

“Something happened to me that night.” She grabbed his hand and took it away from her heart. His touch used to be magical to her, but now there was nothing. Her heart used to yearn for him from time to time, but now there was no room in her tiny heart. “I’m honestly glad that you didn’t follow me after I ran out. We both would have never survived.”

“What happened to you?” he asked quietly.

“Nothing that you need to concern yourself with.” The memories of the past began to creep back, “You didn’t follow me for a reason and that was made very clear.” As Alec was about to say something else they both heard footsteps coming from the woods. As the smell of Jane clouded Poppy’s sense she sighed in relief. “Your sister is waiting for you. You both should really head back to Aro, he must be worried.” With that Poppy walked past him and slid back into the hallway window. Closing and locking it she looked off into the distance to see to hooded figures whipping through the trees.

****

“How are you feeling, Jacob?” Poppy was looking down at him as she examined his bandages. Carlisle had insisted that she go to check up on Jacob since he was too busy at his office. Despite the argument she put up in the family court she ended up being forced to go anyway. There was no real reason she hated being here… it was just that the stares from the wolf family made Poppy extremely uncomfortable. “I’m going to have to rebandage you ok. This is going to hurt.”  Going through the normal procedures she finished the checkup in a record time and head out the door to her jeep. Before she got to the door hands enveloped her in an enormous hug. Seth’s goofy chuckles and scent overload her senses, bringing a smile to her face.

“Where are you going beautiful?” He asks as she turns around in his arms. He had his sweater hood up and Poppy would be lying if she said she was disappointed about him not being shirtless; the sleeves on his sweater were cut off so she was satisfied with seeing his toned arms.

“I’m going home obviously. Why where are you going?” Keeping his arms around her waist he wrinkled his chin.

“I just got out of school and I wanted to see how Jacob was doing. Is he ok?”

“Yes he is fine and by tomorrow he’ll be completely healed.” She played with the strings of his sweater to try and get another smile or a laugh. She hated when he was sad or worried since she could feel it ten times worse. Anything he was going through she felt it like if it was her own worry, sadness or pain. They goofed around for a while until she felt eyes on them. She looked towards the house and saw Billy’s figure going back in. “I should go.” She tried to push away, but he kept her in his arms making her smile for the hundredth time.

“Go out with me, Pops.” Whipping her head around she looked him in the eyes.

“What?” she asked.

“Go on a date with me tomorrow.” He asked almost demanded even.

“Don’t you have school tomorrow?” She stated.

“Yea, but if you come and get me after school we won’t be stopped by anyone.” He pulled her forward and brushed his face on the side of her hair, taking a deep breath.

“You want me to pick you up at school, so that we can go on a date? Are you sure? Won’t your friends see?” Quickly he moves to look her in the eye.

“And? Who cares if they see? I want everyone to see that you’re with me… that you’re mine.” Poppy weighed the pros and cons in her head silently for a second, taking in every aspect that there is. Immediately she threw all rationality out the window.

“OK. Tomorrow I’ll pick you up. Just don’t regret it.” He put his face in the crook of her neck.

“Never.” Pulling away she goes to grab the handle of the jeep.

“Text me when your last class is and I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” She put her bohemian shades on, coolly climbed into the car and raced home.

The whole ride she thought about everything. What was she gonna wear? How was she gonna style her hair? Was she gonna take the bike or the jeep? Everything about tomorrow made her extremely nervous as well as excited. Poppy hadn’t been this happy in what felt like forever. She couldn’t even remember being this happy about anything. In all of her years on this earth she’d never felt anything like that feeling of being in love with someone who loved her as much as she did them.


	12. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth and Poppy enjoy a simple date through the town of Forks. We learn how Poppy became a hybrid.

On the particularly gloomy day Poppy couldn’t help, but think that this was the perfect weather for her to be out. Anymore sunshine and she’d be practically roasting alive in front of everyone. The scene was all too familiar as she leaned against her bike feeling the crowd of teens stare at her. She’d hear whispers about either her face or her outfit. Looking down she was beginning to question her outfit choice. She was wearing her favorite combat boots with fishnet stocking that lead the way to her cut up blue jean shorts. Her simple black Van Halen t-shirt was loosely tucked in and a light water colored cardigan draped over her shoulders. Adjusting the beanie on her head she sighed, ‘ _Do I look too weird?_ ’ she asked herself.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Seth’s cheerful voice rang through her ears. Poppy looked up and smiled at him. Pushing off the ground she leaped to envelop him in her arms, “Hello beautiful.” He chuckled and lifted her off her feet twirling her around in front of the entire school. As he put her down she could hear the whispers around them and was instantly flooded with the feelings of embarrassment. She put on her shades to hide her face and looked up at Seth again.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I had to ride my motorcycle here. Emmett took the Jeep before I could get my hands on it.” Seth’s face lights up with excitement as he hears the word motorcycle.

“You brought your bike?!” Poppy nods, “Yes! I’ve always wanted to ride a real motorcycle.” He bounces on his tip toes bringing another smile to her face.

“Ok well where do you want to go?” Poppy asks taking his hand as they walk closer to the bike.

“I have a few ideas, but let’s start by going into town.” Nodding Poppy hands him her only helmet. “No you put it on.” She tilts her head to the side and raises her eyebrows.

“Really? I’m like made of stone. I don’t need a helmet.” She places it in his hands and goes to put her key in. When she gets ready to mount it she sees Seth’s arms going over her head and feels the warmth of the helmet on her head.

“I want you to wear it. No buts.” Pouting she lets him buckle her in before she mounts and starts the bike. Poppy tried to be annoyed at the fact that he wouldn’t wear the helmet, but she couldn’t help feeling happy at how he worried for her. Once Seth hops on they make their way to town; parking in the pizza parlor Seth grabbed her hand quickly dragging her in. They were seated in a far booth away from everyone else, “I’m starving.” Seth said as he slid in. As if a light bulb went off in his head he looked nervously at Poppy. “Can you eat… like human food? I’m so sorry I should’ve asked before we came here.” He rubbed the back of his head nervously.

“No, its fine.” She said waving her hands to calm him, or herself, down, “I can eat certain regular foods. I’ve only eaten like salads before so I’m not sure what other ones I can eat.” He sighs in relief.

“That’s good. I would’ve been mortified if you couldn’t eat anything.” The couple quickly ate joking and talking completely oblivious to the people gawking at them from afar. Finishing up in no time they head out for a walk around town, “You mean you’ve never been around here?” Seth asked as Poppy looked around. She was completely fascinated by how this small town operated with such a low population. She had been around the world to the most vast, enormous cities, but she had never ventured out into the small towns that surround them.

“No I really haven’t. All I’ve been to is the high school and the hospital, but those were a onetime thing. People don’t really know how to react to me.” She whispered. “I’m not really into people staring at me. You think I would’ve gotten used to it, but I’m not.” Poppy was used to the city life where there were extravagate people all around her, but in a little town like this… someone who is different was the main attraction. People were never shy or ashamed of their stares. She fiddled with her fingers as they walked slowly along the small shops. Seth looked around him and saw all the side glances that people were shooting Poppy. Most of them had no malice behind them; they were just in awe of the ‘new’ comer.

“Don’t worry. Just think of me like your shield.” He lightly grabbed her right hand and entwined their fingers. “When your with me just tell yourself that their starring at our PDA.” With Seth making her laugh Poppy’s worries vanished. The whole day Seth and Poppy spent having fun at the tiny shops before heading to the park near the reservation. There they began to talk about Poppy’s complexity. She explained how everything worked about herself from her eating habits, to how her change works.

“How did you become a hybrid? If you don’t mind me asking.” They were sitting in a tree with their legs dangling in the air.

“That’s kind of a long story.” She said.

“Well if you’re willing to tell it we’ve got time.” He wrapped his arms around her and sat his chin on her shoulder. She sighed looking off into the distance at the setting sun; her mind began to drift back to that fateful night.

****

Alec and Poppy were training in the cellar of the Volturi castle early in the evening. Poppy had perfected her gift, but could never beat her lover’s evil, black smoke. As they tussled on the floor playfully the double doors opened and Jane made herself present. Immediately Alec separated himself from Poppy getting up while brushing himself off.

“Can’t you control yourselves?” Jane said coldly. Sighing Poppy got up to stand directly in front of her nemesis.

“What is it, Jane?” She asked irritated that she and Alec could never have a minute alone.

“Aro has summoned all of us to the grand room.” Whipping her head she left almost as quickly as she came. After a quick change the lovers made their way to Aro. A meeting in the grand room meant either food or business. Either way Poppy was eager to get it done to continue her day. Once in the grand room Poppy was greeted with Aro’s big, creepy smile.

“My dear there you are, come come.” He grabbed her hand lightly and looked into her thoughts, a thing he did very often with Poppy. He sighed obviously disappointed by the things he was seeing. As he finished he caressed her hands gently, “Alec would you stand here as well?” Panic began to set in as Alec made his way over. They had never made their relationship public even though they weren’t shy about showing their affection. Aro had one silent rule that he hardly ever enforced, but now that his favorite weapons were together he felt the need to say something. “Now I’ve seen you too interact with each other for a while now. Honestly it wouldn’t be a major problem if you guys were actually mates.” The words leave his mouth swiftly, but echo in Poppy’s ears. Alec and Poppy weren’t mates, but she had felt feelings for him. She had never felt anything like this before so it must be love.

“Excuse me, master, but how do you know that.” Alec says breaking the silence, “I love Poppy.” He says grabbing the hand that Aro had let go of.

“Yes you may love each other, but it is not real. Isn’t that right, Marcus?” Aro looks behind him at Marcus’ dull face; he simply nods and looks to Poppy with sympathy. “See and I can’t have my most precious prizes being distracted by this little… fling.” He giggles and steals Poppy’s hand from Alec. “Now no more of this adolescent thoughts you call love. Both of you are forbidden to be together.” Slowly taking her hand away Poppy shakes her head.

“No I can’t do that. Can you not just let us be until we tire of each other?” Aro raises his head at her question. Standing his ground he shakes his head slowly; he motions for someone to call Corin. At that moment Poppy knew he was gonna have his way no matter what. Corin was the one who had the gift of making people content with their situation. Poppy refused to be brainwashed into thinking something that wasn’t true; she grabbed Alec’s hand and began to run. She passed everyone with ease until they got through the door and Alec pulled his hand away from her. Looking back at him in shook Poppy tried to grab his hand again, “Come on we have to go or else they won’t let us be together.”

“Maybe it’s for the best.” Alec said.

Poppy shook her head in disbelief, “Are you serious! After all the time we’ve spent together. One word from Aro and you’re ready to throw me away?!” He said nothing, only looked at Poppy with a blank stare. She lifted her hand to bring a slap down, but she couldn’t deliver it. Her whole world was crashing down. She knew that this wouldn’t be the last time they would try to conform her and she refused to be Aro’s brainwashed prize any longer. She needed to escape. With a sigh she took a step, backing away from Alec, “Well it looks like Marcus was right.” With that she took off existing the building and escaping into the woods. Once she was outside saw that none of the Volturi had followed her out here.

The night was still young as the full moon was at its peak. Poppy ran and ran until she found herself in the middle of the forest with nothing, but the crickets and stars for company. She leaned on a nearby tree and replayed what had happened. Her whole life simply went up in flames for the sake of love and free will.  If vampires could cry she’d be knee deep in a huge puddle; even her maker’s death hadn’t hurt this bad. It was as if the feeling of family had vanished from the picture of the Volturi. She had always felt warm and loved with them, but now there was nothing. It was cold and lonely with them in her memory. Suddenly a crack of the branches caught Poppy’s attention.

“Whose there?” She asked to the darkness. The sound of big steps and heavy breathing became louder and louder as the animal came closer. Getting into a crouching position she growled at the giant figure emerging from the brush. A wolf with snow white hair, grey eyes, and razor sharp claws came into sight. _‘A Child of the Moon.’_ Poppy thought to herself. She had briefly studied them in the Volturi library and knew that they were incredibly dangerous. Baring her teeth she stood her ground while backing up, getting ready to bolt back in the direction she came from. _‘But the Volturi.’_ She thought. Sighing she decided that she’d rather get killed than go back to her old family. Growling they circled each other neither showing any weakness. He licks his teeth and lips before he leaps into the air with his mouth open ready to take a piece of Poppy. She catches him causing her to fall down on top of him. They flip and flip with the speed of light both trying to find an opening; until he finally gets all of his weight to pin her to the ground. With incredible speed he bites into her left side, but Poppy takes this opportunity to grab a nearby stick and ram it in his neck. He cries loud and takes off into the dark forest with while whimpering.

Poppy’s body is left paralyzed as a cold sweat break out from the bite to her entire body. Her vision begins blur and her canine teeth become longer than her normal vampire ones. As the coldness finally sets in a fire like feeling takes a hold of her dead heart and with a leap her heart is jump started again; causing her body to jolt. She begins to start shaking as the fire moves through her veins. The pain is something that she never thought that she would be able to experience. Screaming in agony she grabs her face trying to stop the pain somehow. That’s when she notices hair on the back of her palm and how elongated her nails became. With a snap her bones begin to break causing her to silent cry as the pain worsens then… blackness.

****

“The next day I woke up in Carlisle and Esme’s Paris home.” Poppy finished up the story as Seth looked at her with sad eyes. “Carlisle told me he found me while walking towards Volterra. I was lucky that he had come on a surprise visit to them if not then I’d probably be alone or dead. I owe the Cullens a lot.” Seth tightens his grip on her waist and nuzzled his nose into her shoulder.

“You have been through so much.” He sighed softly, “I don’t know if I’m worthy of a girl like you.” Poppy laughed softly and caressed his cheek gently. She brought his head up to look him in the eyes and placed a kiss on his sweet lips. The kiss was full of emotion and began to deepen until Poppy broke away.

“You’re perfect for me.” They stayed under the starlight sharing hugs and kisses.


	13. Meeting Mamma Clearwater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy has a semi serious talk with the Cullens concerning her relationship with Seth. Sue Clearwater finally get to meet the love of her son's life.

Seth walked Poppy up their stairs to her front door at a quarter to ten. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you home?” Poppy asks as she swings their locked hands.

“No I’ll be fine. Besides what kind of guy would I be if I didn’t see you home?” Poppy smiles and admires the guy she’s fallen for. His dark blue jeans hung perfectly on his hips as they fell loosely around his dirty converse. The light blue button up was open exposing his plain white tee that accentuated his muscles. His gleaming face lit up Poppy’s world on this dark night. She leaned forwarded to deliver tiny kisses on his plump lips.

“I told you, you don’t have to worry about that kind of stuff with me. I may be a girl, but the whole gender roles are eh to me.” He smirks and wraps his arms around her.

“Oh and here I thought you’d be the one to be all old school.” They laugh together, as they usually do, until Seth sighs lightly.

“What is it?” Poppy asks.

“I don’t want to let go.” She smiles brightly and snakes her arms around his waist to hold him tight. “Will you,” he stops himself.

“Will I what?” she asks.

“Will you come and meet my mom?” She looks up at him with a sweet smile.

“I don’t know. Would that be a good idea?” He kisses her forehead and looks off into the distance.

“Well if you don’t want to that’s fine.” She shakes him a little.

“I didn’t say no, it’s just… it’s just.” She stops herself. Poppy couldn’t bring herself to say that she didn’t feel comfortable in the wolf territory.  Knowing Seth she knew it would worry him and make him feel like he had to choose between his family and Poppy. Sucking it up she slapped a smile on her face, “You know what I’ll go. I want to meet your mom.” Without warning he lifts her up in a bone crushing hug.

“Yay! You’re the best, Pops. Gosh mom is gonna be so excited. Is tomorrow too soon?” She shakes her head gives a small ‘no’. He places a million kisses on her face before giving her a deep kiss on the lips. He practically jumps off the porch steps and skips into the deep forest. As soon as she’s inside Poppy sighs deeply thinking about what might come of tomorrow.

“Finally meeting the folks huh?” Emmett’s voice booms through the empty hallway. She looks to the stairs to see him sitting by the window with his hands resting on his knees. She nods and takes off her shoes before going to climbs the stairs to sit next to him. “You guys sure are moving fast.” He remarks.

“You think?” she asks, but Emmett takes it as statement.

“Well why don’t you tell him you don’t want to?” She runs her hands through her hair and slumps over her knees.

“It’s not that I don’t want to meet his mom. It’s just I can feel how much the wolves hate me; especially Leah.” He puts his hand on her back and pats her lightly, or what he assumes it light.

“You’re a tough cookie, Pops. You’ve had to deal with people being ignorant all your life?” he questions the word making Poppy giggle. “I think you can handle a couple of haters.” She smiles and brings her head up to look at Emmett.

“You’re right.” Sighing she realizes something he just said, “Pops, huh? You’ve never called me that before; only Seth calls me that.” He stops the back patting and looks around the room with guilt written eyes. “How long have you been sitting here?” He starts shrugging and making weird mouth noises; Poppy puts her hands on her hips in a scolding way. “Were you spying on me?”

“Well! What do you except?!” he shouts, “Do you think I’m just gonna let this little guy come in a try to do something?” She clicks her tongue and gets up making her way to the living room. The whole family was gathered there and immediately shook their heads at Emmett. Poppy grumpily sat on her chair bringing her knees up to her face.

“I told you she’d get mad.” Jasper said as he flipped through the news channels. Moving from her spot Rosalie pats the spot beside her for Emmett to sit. He obeys with a pout and sighs as his boulder like figure collapses on the couch.

“Well at least you didn’t ruin everything.” Poppy states, “If you had I would’ve killed you.” Rosalie shoots her a glare and leans into her husband.

“He was just being a good brother. Besides we still don’t know how to feel about this whole situation.” Poppy looks at her with furrowed brows.

“What do you mean?” She looks at everyone, “Are you guys not okay with me and Seth?” Immediately Esme goes to her side and brushes her hand through Poppy’s hair.

“No dear. We are so glad that you’ve found someone. Since your situation is extremely complicated we thought you’d have to go through your life alone, so you being with Seth is great. It’s just that…” She looks to Carlisle for some assistance.

“It’s just that with Seth being a part of the pack… it makes things even more complicated for you.” Poppy sighs.

“I know, but I can’t walk away from Seth. It’ll kill me.” She begins to think about the last time she walked away from love and how that ended.

“We know.” Alice said, “We all are rooting for you. We like Seth, but the other wolves aren’t going to be as accepting as he is. We just don’t want you to get hurt again.” Poppy looks at everyone and sees their love filled expressions. She’d always thought that she’d never be able to fit in anywhere, with any coven, but now Poppy knew the Cullens were perfect for her. Smiling she nodded not knowing how to express her understanding. “Now back to the wedding preparations.” Alice says.

“Wedding? Who’s wedding?” Poppy asks looking up at Esme.

“Edwards and Bella’s of course.” Alice exclaims.

“Ahh well I should’ve figured that.” Poppy says getting up to go to her room.

“You don’t want to see what I’ve got planned?” Alice calls to Poppy’s disappearing figure. She’d thought that she’d just escape to her room, but feeling bad she changed her mind. Besides it would safe Rosalie from Alice’s nonstop wedding banter. 

“I’m going to go change then I’ll be back.” They spent practically the whole night working on everything since it was gonna be a shot gun wedding… without the shot gun.

****

Seth woke up the next morning to a text from Poppy asking what time she should be over. He replied with an eager time of an hour from now and hopped out of bed. Getting dressed he went over the speech he would give his mom and sister about meeting Poppy, which he would only be bringing up today for the first time. As if on cue his mother, Sue Clearwater, called him downstairs for breakfast. Hurrying to the kitchen he startles his mother slightly, “Gosh Seth are you that hungry?” She asks with a smile. They sit down together and started to eat, but Seth’s constant stares begin to annoy his mom. “What is it Seth?”

“Uhm… Are you busy today?” he asks trying to keep his cool.

“Well I don’t have anything partially planned since it’s a Saturday.” She squints at him suspiciously, “Why? Don’t you have to run with the guys?”

“Yea, but that’s not till later. Mom ok, do you remember Poppy? The girl I imprinted on?” He asks. She nods slowly and takes a sip of her hot tea. “Well we’ve sort of been going out and I want you to meet her.” Keeping some tea in her mouth she hums in realization. She honestly had no idea how to respond to something like this, so going with her gut she gulps down the tea.

“OK I’d love to meet her sometime.” He smiles brightly and goes to take a huge bite of his food.

“Good cause she’ll be here in about an hour.” She does a double take and looks at their clean house with a mother’s sense of tidiness.

“Seth you couldn’t have told me yesterday? The house is a mess!” Immediately she gets up and takes their plate to the sink to start cleaning.

“Mom I wasn’t done.” Not paying attention she cleans and cleans until the house smells like a patch of fresh roses with a hint of bleach. Seth could do nothing, but watch his mother as she fidgeted with her outfit and constantly looked out the window. 

“Are you sure you gave her the right address?” She asked Seth pacing her living room.

“Yes mother I gave her the right address. Where is Leah?” he asked. “I want her to sit with us too.” Sue waved a hand at her son shushing him. She was nervous to meet the girl that he imprinted on. Not only because she was the imprintee, but she remembers how much of a scandal it had caused with the pack. Sue knew she wasn’t a cold one and knew that she was Carlisle adoptive daughter, which meant that she had to be some kind of something.

“Your sister went on a run before you got up. Why didn’t you go get your girl yourself?” Sue asked appalled at her son for not being more gentlemanly.  

“She told me not to worry about getting her and with Pops there’s no point in trying to change her mind.” Suddenly the sound of a motorcycle engine came from outside the house. Perking up Seth ran out the door to greet Poppy.

Sue brushed over her shirt and vest one more time while taking a deep breath. This was the time that she needed to be there for her son. She didn’t think it would come this soon, ‘ _but it’s now or never._ ’ She thought to herself. Straightening her living room once more and checking over everything in sight, Sue waited for Seth to bring the love of his life inside. As the screen door creaks open a beautiful girl with almost iridescent hair comes in. She smiles happily at Sue and waits for Seth to come in and introduce her. “Mom this is Poppy Hale. She’s Carlisle daughter and also the one that helped Jacob the last time.” Her beauty absolutely stunned Sue as she became speechless until her son shook her lightly.

“Yes.” She snaps out of it with a smile, “Yes hello. I’m Sue Clearwater how are you.” Poppy smiles and brings her hand out for a handshake.

“Hello it’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Clearwater.” Taking her hand Sue shakes it lightly and brings her to sit on the couch.

“Oh my you are so beautiful. Isn’t she Seth?” She looks at Seth sitting in the armchair to the other side of Poppy. “I hope the trip here wasn’t too far?”

“No ma’am it wasn’t. I actually enjoy the scenery on the way here.” Smiling Poppy reaches into her messenger bag and takes out a circular tin. “I baked these cookies for you. I wasn’t sure what kind to make so I went with Seth’s favorite.” Sue takes it with much gratitude and goes to bring them something to drink.

“Are they sugar cookies?” Seth asks.

“Obviously since those are your favorite. Aren’t they?” Seth nods with enthusiasm and takes one from the tin. “Don’t eat all of them. They’re for your whole family.”

“Oh don’t worry about him sweetie.” Sue says coming back with cups of tea for her and Poppy. “Now tell me do you go to Forks High or…” they go on and on making small talk and Sue comes to find out how perfect she is for Seth. Sue, wanting to have some privacy with Poppy, asks Seth to do some random task away from them. “You know Poppy I think you’re an amazing girl. I believe you’re perfect for my Seth. He needs a strong and independent girl like you by his side. I’m sure you know how sweet he is?” Poppy nods, “I’ve always been afraid that people will try to take advantage of him, so I’m glad he found you.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Clearwater.” Poppy says, “You don’t know how much that means to me.” They smile at each other and continue to chit chat until Poppy hears growls outside the house. Getting up she goes to the window and sees Seth looking around, alarmed as well. “Ma’am please stay here okay. I think something bad might be here.” Poppy goes outside and grabs Seth’s arms, “What is that?” she asks.

“The pack… they’re here as well as my sister.”  


	14. Normal?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack interrupt things at the Clearwater house. The Cullens experience normality after so long.

The growls and huffs of the wolves surround them in the tree line that boxes the Clearwater house in. Seth had his body covering Poppy in a protective stance, “Don’t worry they can’t hurt you without hurting me.” He says. Poppy couldn’t help, but keep a tight hold of his t-shirt in hopes that it’ll give her some sort of reassurance. They had no idea how the pack would react to Poppy being there. Their thoughts about the relationship were still unclear even to Seth. Slowly the pack emerges out of the wolves in their human forms, with Leah being the first to charge.

“What is she doing here?!” she yells at Seth as she walks in a fast and territorial pace. Getting in Seth’s face she huffs and puffs like a wild animal ready to attack, “What are you doing here!?” she screams over Seth’s shoulder. Seth tries to keep himself between Poppy and his sister, but Poppy moves him out of the way.

“I was invited here.” Poppy say calmly. She wasn’t scared of Leah; she knew that taking her out wouldn’t be a problem, but the fact that she was Seth’s sister changed things. She needed to be calm and cool to make sure she didn’t cause harm to any of them especially Leah. It would hurt Seth’s so much and also may cause tension with the pack and the Cullens.

“You shouldn’t be here! This is our territory.” Leah moves forward nudging Poppy a little. It takes all of Poppy’s strength not to lunge at her, but Seth grabs hold of her arm lovingly and the anger sheds away. Instead she sighs and rolls her eyes which irritate Leah even more.

“That’s enough Leah.” Sam’s voice comes from behind her.

“Poppy isn’t a cold one. She’s something entirely different.” Seth says. He backs away pulling Poppy with him. Leah follows them with her eyes still not letting her guard down.

“How do you know that?” She asks Sam and Seth.

“Well if you calm down you can hear her heart beat.” Sam says matter-of-factly. Leah was so consumed by rage that her own heart beat masked everything around her. She often went running around like that since she needed to mask all of Sam’s thoughts and feelings about Emily. Sighing Leah closed her eyes and took a deep breath, relaxing herself. Then she heard it, a strong beat that sounded like a broken metronome. It was slow-slower than an average person, but stronger than her own beating heart.

“So are you a new monster?” She says opening her eye to looks a Poppy. Laughing sarcastically Poppy shrugs “Leave it to my brother to imprint on another monster.” Leah adds making Poppy clench her jaw.

“Look,” Seth starts, “Leah you’re gonna have to start getting used to having her around. She isn’t going anywhere, Poppy is in my life and I won’t force you to accept that. But you will respect that she is the love of my life.” Without her cold expression breaking Leah begins to walk in the opposite direction. She phases and jumps into the woods with a loud howl. Smiling Seth looks down at Poppy and takes her hand into his. The guys all yelp and shout, “Looks like Leah was the only one with the big problem.” He remarks.

“It’s not like you can help who you imprint on.” Quil says.

“Yea you should know.” Jared remarks nudging him playfully; Poppy shoots Seth a questionable glance

“Later.” He says and goes back to playing around with his brothers.

“Well sorry to interrupt things, but we have to go Seth.” Sam says in his deep alpha voice. Nodding Seth makes the guys go first before taking both of Poppy’s hands in his.

“So this was eventful, but duty calls. I’ll call you later.” He leans for a kiss when he catches his mom watching out the small window. As her eyes widen before she closes the curtains quickly.

“What.” Poppy asks turning her head, but Seth pulls her head back gently. He gives her a deep, sweet kiss and caresses her cheek softly.

“It was nothing. See ya later Pops.” She nods and sends him off with a wave.

Poppy kept Sue company for a little while until she decided to return home. She was completely over the moon about how good the whole experience went. With Leah and the pack showing up it was probably the best thing that could’ve happened. Now the couple knew that no one stood in the way of their relationship; not everyone was supporting it, like Leah, but at least no one would force them apart. Upon coming home Poppy was immediately tackled and thrown into the living room.

“What is going on?” She asks, but the image of the living room answered every question. Emmett and Jasper were sitting on the couch yelling at a rugby game while twirling ribbon delicately. Carlisle and Edward had patches of color sections all over themselves, making them stare intently at each other. Rosalie and Esme were mapping out the invitations, which was impossible since Rosalie hated everyone. Bella sat at the bar looking completely stressed by the selections of gown in front of her.

“Pick a task and go to your group.” Alice said pushing Poppy forward before going back to oversee the chaos that was the living room. Poppy couldn’t help, but burst out laughing at her goofy family that never seemed to disappoint with the theatrics. Going over to Bella she took of her jacket and draped it over one of the bars stools.

“You look stressed. Trying to pick a dress?” Poppy asks looking over Bella’s choices. She smirks and runs her hands through her hair.

“Yea Alice has a vision and these are the ones that fit the most.” The spread of dress were amazing, but clearly not as extravagant as Alice wanted. Poppy could already hear Alice complain, ‘ _This will have to do with the time frame we have. I hate this last minute thing._ ’ Bella motions to one at the bottom of the computer screen asking Poppy what she thinks. They go back and forth with this until the settle on a plain pearl white dress with a see through, buttoned back. “Where were you anyway?” Bella asks after Poppy gets them some water.

“Uhm…I was at Seth’s” she takes a quick swig before sitting back down on the stool.

“Oh really and how did that go?” Poppy clicks her tongue and looks away trying to figure out where to start.

“It was fine… even though the pack showed up.” The whole family stopped to listen in on the conversation; even Emmett muted the game.

“Really?! So did anything happen? Did they try to fight or did they make a big deal about you being there.” So she spilled everything from the cookies to the pack leaving.

“How cool Seth said something, huh.” Alice remarks.

“You must’ve been thrilled.” Rosalie says raising her eyebrows and smirking. It was one of the first times that they’ve had a normal conversation as a family. There was no problem to deal with, no other vampire trying to kill them, and no wolf problems. The feeling of being normal was something that the Cullens were never accustomed to, but welcomed it none the less. Now the only task for them to tackle was the wedding of the century.  


	15. Approval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Small chapter about Seth hanging with the Cullen as they go ham on the wedding preparations.

It had been weeks since Poppy and Seth were able to hang out together. He was busy with the regular patrol with the pack, school, and now Jacob’s disappearance. Even though Sam insisted they leave him alone, Seth couldn’t help, but keep tabs on the brother he looked up to the most. He tracked him all the way up to northern Canada and was forced back by Sam and the others.

Poppy was under, what she considered, house arrest by Alice due to the wedding preparations. Every day was new decorations, table organizing, and outfit fittings which were driving Poppy to the edge of insanity. If it wasn’t for Jasper and his mood control she probably would’ve revolted by now.  One busy morning Poppy gets a call from Seth, “Yes?” she asks into the receiver.

“Well hello to you too. Did I do something?” Seth’s worried voice whispers through the phone. She sighs and switches the phone to the other ear.

“No I’m sorry it’s just I’m kind of going crazy here. Alice, she’s cracking the whip you know.” Seth chuckles nervously. His anxiousness could be felt from miles away, “What is it?” Poppy asks.

“Well uhm, we finished our patrol early and I don’t really have anything to do so…” he takes a second to breathe, which make Poppy smile at his shyness. “I was just wondering if it would be ok for me to come over. I could help i-if you wanted me to.” Poppy looks around at the chaos that the living room has turned into and outside where Alice is directing everybody in her sweet petite voice.

“Yea that would actually be great. Besides we haven’t seen each other in forever and I miss you.” Poppy was never as shy as Seth was when it came to expressing her feelings. With how dangerous their worlds were she felt that there was no need to beat around the bush since either of them could be gone the next day. Morbid, but true.  She could hear his almost silent ‘ _yes_ ’ and fist clenching before he told her he was on his way.

“Is Seth coming over?” Esme asks emerging from the slave labor outside. Poppy nods and smiles as she puts the finishing touches on the e-mail to the bakery that was making the cake; Alice had put Poppy in charge of everything that was being delivered to the house. “Well that’s good. I know you two haven’t had time to see each other with everything that’s been going on. You must be excited.” She was completely thrilled to be able to see Seth again. They had talked on the phone every day and even text throughout Seth’s school days, but it was never enough. Poppy wanted to be in his arms and breathe in his fresh rain and strawberries scent. Without him next to her she always felt like something was missing or like she was forgetting something important. It was an irritating feeling that plagued them both.

In what feels like forever Seth finally rings the doorbell eagerly. Emmett is the one to open the door with his mean glare plastered on his face. He looks down at Seth who is smiley sweetly, like a puppy dog waiting to be petted. He crosses his arms and opens his mouth to speak when Poppy’s voice booms through the hallway, “Seth!” she screams as she runs to him with her vampire speed. Like a small bag of brick she smashes her body into his, but he doesn’t let it phases him. Using his amazing wolf strength he envelopes her in his arms carrying and twirling her as if she weighted nothing. As he sets her down he sees Emmett squinting at him while using two fingers to motion to him, mouthing, ‘ _I’m watching you._ ’ Poppy looks back at her big brother and pushes him out of the doorway bringing Seth into the mad house.

“Hi, it’s nice to see you.” Seth says to Emmett as he passes him. Poppy pulls him into the living room where the majority of the family was sitting.

“Sorry about all the mess.” Poppy says referring to the white lace and mesh that crowded the couch. There was ribbon and place settings on every table making it look like they were working in a sweat shop for a mere three cents. Jasper and Edward were taking turns wrapping candles in silver ribbon while Bella put them in neat rows. He could hear Alice and Rosalie arguing about where to put the cake table when Carlisle walked into the house.

“Oh Seth nice to see you.” He says smiling brightly.

“Hi it’s nice to see you as well. I hope I’m not intruding.”  He says as the whole gang finally pays him any attention.

“No you’re always welcome here.” Esme says. Poppy sits him down at the bar next to her and get back to planning.

“How much have you guys done?” He asks.

“Well we got everything that needs to be delivered squared away, but there’s still a lot to do in this month and half.” She says. “After I do this last e-mail we can help Jasper and Edward with the little trinkets.”  Nodding he put his arm around her waist and watched her type with adoring eyes. Esme and Carlisle couldn’t help, but stare at the new couple as they saw them interact. They had always worried about Poppy spending her days alone surrounded by her sibling who found their mate. Now that they saw how much love Seth had for her their minds were finally at ease. As they wrapped trinkets and tied bows the family all began to settle down and come inside. Everyone with a piece of ribbon or pouch in hand watching a football game, or at least trying to, “They better kick or they won’t make the next goal.” Poppy says completely immersed in the game. Seth found it cute how she crazy she got over sports.

“The new guy hasn’t got the stamina for that kind of kick.” Emmett remarks. They throw statics back and forth while everyone watches. Seth had never been with a family so lively and seeing how open Poppy was being made him smile.

“Seth can you come help me with something?” Carlisle asking motioning out the back door.

“Sure no problem.”  He says getting up from the couch. He pats Poppy’s head and gets a little smile before jogging up to meet Carlisle. They walk outside past the wedding setup, covered tables, and into the forest. Once Carlisle feels like they’ve gotten far enough he stops and faces Seth.

“Sorry to bring you all the way out here, I just don’t want them to overhear our conversation.” Seth nods with a blank expression not knowing what’s to come of this talk. “I’d like to say, firstly Seth, that I’m eternally grateful.” Carlisle looks up at the sky with a soft face, “You know Poppy has been through a lot in her lifetimes. She used to be so closed off from us, never leaving her room, always lurking a few feet behind… until she met you.” Seth could feel the sincerity in his words, the words of a loving father caring for his daughter. “Poppy always tries to be strong and makes sure no one is worrying about her. She needs someone like you to melt down her metal exterior. I’ve always made it my job to save her from herself,” he walks closer to Seth and sighs, “but now that is up to you. I believe you’re the perfect person for her.” It was a lot for Seth to take in, but he felt so happy that Carlisle opened up to him. The fact that he was getting approval from Poppy’s father meant the world to him. Seth felt like his heart was going to leap out and start doing cartwheel. Keeping his cool he takes a confident step closer to Carlisle.

“Sir, I will do my best to take care of Poppy. I love her with every fiber in my being.” Carlisle pats his shoulder and nods. “Thank you for trusting me Carlisle.” Turning him around Carlisle simply hums. They return to the house just in time to see Emmett lose to Poppy in an arm wrestling match. With a victory cry Poppy looks to Seth with a beautiful smile, making his heart melt. The rest of the night is filled with laughter, ribbon, and football.  


	16. Sleepovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've made a few minor changes to the past chapters to make the story flow better.

As the night grew darker and later, Seth’s will to stay awake began to fade away. Eventually he fell asleep with his head in Poppy’s lap while she stroked his hair watching late night T.V. They had just finished making every trinket and candle for the reception, which had the little work done for the wedding. Now it was up to everyone else to get the big details out of the way. Edward had taken Bella back to the house and Rosalie, Jasper, and Alice had already turned in for the night.

“Is he asleep?” Carlisle asked Poppy. Being pulled away from the screen she looks to her father then down at Seth’s peaceful face. She smiles and nods while admiring her loves cute face.

“Emmett can you help me take him to my room?” she asked to her big brother. He looked at her with squinted eyes which she returned while pursuing her lips. He sighed and got up to take Seth on his back, “Put him on my bed and I’ll be there in a minute.” Getting up she went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She watched as Esme and Carlisle continued to clean the living area up and organize everything. This was the first normal night she had spent with her family. Usually Poppy stayed in her room dancing; she felt warm and content inside with how this night was spent.

Once she was in her room she saw that Emmett had nicely tucked in Seth in her day bed.  Under the black sheets he laid still with only his chest moving up and down as he took deep breaths. It was a nicely side bed that could fit no more than two people tightly. Its wooden railing had the most intricate carvings along the inside that didn’t touch the wall. Poppy hardly slept on it; instead she would simply sit and think. As she walks closer she recalls when she first got settled here in the Cullens house around the 70’s era. She would simply sit on the bed looking at the wall of her room thinking, searching for the answers about how her life got so screwed up. Those days were long gone now that Seth was in her life.

Moving to her bed she climbed in gently next to him, trying not to wake him. As she laid her head down she traced every feature on his face with her eyes. His closed eyes were big and spaced evenly apart, sitting below dark eyebrows that seemed to curve as a natural extension of his broad, rounded nose. His slightly opened mouth gave away the fact that his bottom lip was bigger than his top one. His long neck was skinny enough to expose his Adam’s apple; Poppy had never seen a more perfect face. Taking her finger, Poppy tightly outlined the center of his face lovingly. Seth stirred and turned over on his side facing her with his eyes still closed. He brought his hands up to rest near his face; without thinking Poppy moved to entwine her fingers in his. She kept her gaze on their hands when his voice startled her.

“Why are you starring at our hands?” she looked up surprised that he was awake. She tried to let go of his hand and get up when he enveloped her in his arms. Lay her back down he brought her body closer to his making them share body temperature. As she warmed up, he got colder, bringing them at the same temperature. She was as stiff as a board which made Seth chuckle, “You can relax, Pops. I’m not going to try anything.” Feeling slightly offended she pulled away to look him in the eyes.

“Really, but don’t all guy want to try something… at least nowadays? Do you not find me that attractive?” His eyes widen as she asked those questions.

“No crazy why would you think that? Just like…” he grunted and brought her close again. She tried to back away, but he was holding her too tight, “Stop struggling. I don’t want you to see my face as I answer your dumb question.” Her struggles ceased as she waited for his answers. “Honestly nothing would please me more than trying something right now. Not only do I love you, but I think you’re the hottest girl I’ve ever seen. So believe me I want to it’s just… I want to wait for the right situation. Not here in the house with your family, who has super natural hearing, sleeping next to us. That’s just too weird.” He sighed and she could hear how fast his heart was beating. It was as if his heart was about to burst out of his chest like a fist tearing through paper.

“Ok I get it, but why don’t you want me to see your face?” she asked.

“N-no reason.” He said anxiously.

“Liar, come on let me see your face.” She gently pulled back and saw his cute, flushed face. As she notices how rosy his cheeks were she could tell how embarrassed his was. The little high school werewolf was blushing at Poppy making her heart skip a beat. She giggled softly and turned over on her side with a sigh. Not knowing what to do Seth started to retract his arms and scoot away from Poppy. Suddenly she caught his arm, pulled his closer, and wrapped his arm around herself. “Don’t back away from me.” Finally relaxing he moved their bodies closer to the middle of the day bed and held her tightly through the night.

****

In a blink of an eye the day of the wedding was only a night away, but things were a little rocky at the Cullen house. Poppy was moping around as Emmett and Jasper were getting ready to kidnap Edward for his bachelor party.

“You can’t go you’re a girl.” Rosalie said from her spot on the couch. She flipped her perfectly sleeked blonde hair and looked back down at the newspaper, “I don’t know why you want to go anyway.”

“Cause I want to have fun and chasing mountain lions is the fun I haven’t had in a while. This is pure bullshit. I’m going to hold a strike; this is sexist.” Poppy remarked holding up a fist.

“Oh come off it!” Rosalie exclaimed, “I was around for that movement and would like to not be reminded of that time.” It wasn’t like she hated the movement itself, Rosalie just didn’t want to think about her past human life because of the pain that still lingered. Most vampires go through a lot of pain with remembering how they died or how they were turned; it almost never goes away completely. With a small huff Poppy crossed her legs on the floor and began to meditate. With her wolf fazing about to happen she needed to calm down and keep control of her emotions. Being stuck in the house with nothing, but wedding talk for about two months was starting to weigh on her sanity. As she began to cool off the sudden intrusion of Jasper brought her frown back.

“Is she still mad?” He asked to the living room.

“Seems so since she’s still pouting,” Carlisle says from the kitchen table. “Are you leaving already?”

“Yes Emmett’s already outside. I just wanted to let you know.” Poppy opens one eye like a chameleon and looks at Jasper. He glances at her making her close her eye quickly with another huff.

“Alright be safe and just make sure you three are back by sunrise.” With a simple nod Jasper is out the door. The sound of their fast running and jumping is something out of a super hero movie which causes Poppy to slump her shoulder. ‘ _They’re gone._ ’ With a sigh she gets up to go to her room. She begins to put her hair in a neat bun when a knock on the door is heard. She goes to answer it when Rosalie and Alice come through the door.

“How about we have a girl’s night?” Alice asks sweetly. “Neither of you sleep right?” Poppy and Rosalie nod and soon they’re all on Poppy’s floor doing several of things. Rosalie is sitting like a 1920s movie star with her legs gracefully place to her left side. Using her right hand to keep herself up she glance at a magazine of today’s youth. Alice is on her knees leaning down to concentrate on painting Poppy’s toenails. Poppy would be lying if she didn’t say this whole ‘girl’s night’ situation was fun.

“Thank you for spending the night with me.” She says suddenly. “I’ve never done anything like this before.” Rosalie and Alice share a glance then look at Poppy with a smile as she admires her toenails. They had never really been that close to each other through the years; mostly because Poppy’s first years with the family were spent in isolation in her own room. After the attack she was afraid about what might happen to anybody she surrounded herself with. It was only when they moved that Poppy would be forced to interact with the girls. Around the late 1990s is when she began to speak and move freely around the family. Since the guys were the ones to help her more with her wolf phasing Poppy grew closer to them. She regretted putting herself in a box away from her sisters for so long, and she was determined to make up for the lost years.

“You know Poppy,” Alice leans back on knees and straightens her posture, “I’ve always wanted to know how your human life was? If you don’t mind me asking.” The question took Poppy by surprise, but she smiled nonetheless.

“It was ok I guess. I don’t remember a lot of it, but I remember big things that happened to me sometimes.” She says.

“Why don’t you remember a lot?” Rosalie asks closing the magazine.

“I don’t actually know.” Poppy shrugs, “I think it has to do with the wolf blood in me and how it mixes with the vampire blood, but it could be something else.” They move to sit next to her and lean on the day bed, shoulder to shoulder.

“Well what do you remember?” Rosalie asks. Poppy thinks for a second and looks through the disorganized place that is her mind.

“Well I know that my real father died on D-Day.” She says slowly.

“D-Day as in World War II?” Alice asks. Poppy nods slowly and thinks more about the things she remembers.

“I know that something bad happened to me and I left home when I was young. I don’t remember what happened after that. It’s a little foggy, but I think if I concentrate hard enough I can remember.” She squishes her eyes to think harder when Rosalie puts a hand on her shoulder.

“You don’t have to try so hard. If you don’t remember right now that’s ok.  If it comes to you later and you still want to tell us then go ahead. Beside we have plenty of time for you to remember.” Smiling Poppy nods enthusiastically and they go back to basic girl things. Even though chasing a mountain lion and a couple of bear would’ve been fun Poppy was more than happy to spend the night with her sisters. The start of the rest of their lives together was finally happening.


	17. The Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Bella and Edwards wedding takes place and we finally see how other families treat Poppy. Even though Seth’s presences cause some family drama the new couple spends most of the evening with a smile. As soon as Jacob becomes aware of how Bella wants to spend her honeymoon his rash actions pull Seth away from Poppy. Due to the full moon her emotions make her say some hurtful things to Bella before disappearing in the woods.

“Are you really going to wear that?” Rosalie asks as Poppy puts the finishing touches on her hair.

“Why what’s wrong with it? I look good.” She raises an eyebrow at herself in Rosalie’s white floor length mirror. Poppy was always up to date with the fashion, but still marched to the beat of her own drum. Today was no exception since she decided to wear her old tuxedo she’d gotten during the 80s. It was a gift from a tailor who had befriended Aro and made a lot of the Volturi’s formal ware. Even back then they had made a big deal about how Poppy wanted a tuxedo like Aro instead of a dress like Jane. It was sleek and formfitting which accentuated her perfect hour glass figure. Since the tux was a little old fashioned she decided to wear the bib without an undershirt, so that when she took of her jacket her bare back would be exposed. She paired it with black stilettos, small diamond earrings, and her small ring with the Cullen family crest. If you paid little attention to her hand you could mistake the ring for a plain mood ring, but inside the black orb was the interact crest of her family. Poppy wore her hair in a neat ponytail and made sure every strand was away from her face.

“Yes you do look amazing, but it’s not a dress.” Rosalie said still pushing Poppy to change.

“This is a formal event so I get to wear this _formal_ suit. Besides this is the first time I’m going to see a lot of people. I need to make an impression.” Her sister sighs and pulls Poppy to face her. Rosalie smiles gently and straightens her bow tie. Once she’s done she grabs Poppy’s jacket and places it on her shoulder.

“You’ll definitely make an impression.” Once Poppy is sure she’s done the girls go down to the backyard where they had set up the wedding. Even though they had very little time to do everything, the Cullens had been able to pull off one of the most beautiful weddings. Once Rosalie and Poppy made their way to the front of the aisle, to greet their Denali cousins, everyone’s eyes turn to them. Bella’s friends and family had never seen Poppy before now and were completely taken aback by her beauty. To them she looked like something out of a fairy tale with her olive skin practically glowing, black hair that looked like it was made of different colors and striking grey eyes.

“Poppy darling how are you?” Carmen asks taking a small step back. It had been a couple of years since the Denali coven had seen the Cullens, especially Poppy. After they witnessed Poppy’s phasing they had started to fear her for the resemblance to a Child of the Moon. Even though Carlisle reassured them Poppy was anything, but a Child of the Moon, they tried their best to keep their distance. This was how most coven dealt with Poppy’s presence, which was one of the reason’s Poppy tried to keep to herself in the beginning years. Now that Poppy was more in tuned with her body and her family she never wanted to keep herself inside away from all the fun. Those days were over.

Suddenly the sweet smell of Seth takes hold of Poppy and she looks around frantically to see his smiling face. Eventually he enters the scene and immediately goes to her side, “Hello beautiful.” He says taking her away from the uncomfortable Denali situation. As they walk towards Sue and Billy she gives him a sweet kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks for saving me.” He tilts his head cutely.

“Saving you from what?” he asks.

“You couldn’t feel how awkward that situation was?” he shrugs while bringing her closer to his side.

“Yea kind of, but I didn’t really look up since one of those ladies was giving me a pretty ugly look.” Poppy says her hellos to both Billy and Mrs. Clearwater before showing them to their seats. She takes a seat next to Seth and puts her around him to rest on the back of the cloth covered chair. “Shouldn’t you be sitting in the front?” He asks her.

“Nah, besides I’m the one that has to oversee when they bring out the cake so the back is fine. Anyway who was giving you an ugly look?” She asks still stuck on what Seth had mentioned. He leans closer to whisper in her ear.

“The one with all of her hair up; she’s wearing the shortest dress.” Looking towards her cousins she noticed that he’s talking about Irina. Even as Poppy stared her down she kept her cold gaze that seemed to be aimed at both herself and Seth. She turns back to her lover and smiles at his worried expression. Taking the hand that is resting behind him she raises it up to brush his hair softly.

“Don’t mind her.” She says. The rest of the ceremony goes off without a hitched and is executed beautifully. Once the cake is safe and in its place Poppy makes it a task to start having fun by spending every second with Seth. They dance and dance until they go to give their congratulations to the newlyweds.

“Congratulations guys!” Seth exclaims as he gives Edward a handshake. “I’m so happy for you guys.”

“Thank you, Seth. We’re glad that you could make it as well.” Edward says coolly and glances at Poppy giving her a weird look.

“Ok Seth lets go get some cake.” Poppy interjects still looking at Edward. As they pass him she pokes him gently giving him the little mental message, _‘Stay out of our heads!_ ’ As the sweet young couple get pieces of cake they deliver two to Sue and Billy who are more than happy to take them. As she takes her jacket off and notices that Irina has gotten a little loud while talking to the newlyweds. Keeping one ear to them she hears the hate in her voice as she mentions Seth and Billy. Suddenly she storms off, but not before stopping to look at Seth and Billy once more. Immediately getting defensive Poppy’s eyes turn a deep, dark black and she shoots Irina a death glare before releasing a growl.

“What’s wrong?” Poppy hears Seth ask, but she’s too focused on Irina. Growling again she lifts her chin up to prove dominance, making Irina shiver and finally turn to leave. She looks back at Seth and smirks before taking a swig of water.

“It was nothing. I’ll be right back ok.” Needing to calm herself down, Poppy goes back to the refreshment table and grabs a glass of champagne.

“Are you old enough to drink that?” A guy, she knows as one of Bella’s friends, says pointing at the glass in her hands. His blonde hair is slicked and neatly combed bringing all the attention to his pale blue eyes. Poppy is almost his height with her heels on, but still considers him good looking. She smirks and takes a small sip of the champagne. Alcohol had never been an issue for her stomach to digest; it did however burn up rather quickly making it almost impossible for her to get drunk.

“Are you old enough?” She asks sarcastically. Laughing he held his hands up like a robber at gun point.

“Yea I know what it’s like to have a baby face too. I’m Mike a friend of the bride.” He extends a hand. Poppy looks at it for a second before taking it gently and shaking it.

“I’m Poppy, sister of the groom.” She continues to sip on the cold champagne which makes her hot head cool off. Looking into the distance she can feel his eyes trace her whole body, which honestly bothered her a lot. The fact that he was openly just staring at her like a piece of meat made her blood boil. She didn’t know if it was because of the full moon or the basic sexual harassment that caused it, but she willed herself to calm down.

“So are you here with anyone?” He asks still trying his luck. Her first thought was to say that she was 16, but suddenly Seth was in front of them. Smiling at her he moved closer to place his warm hand on the small of her back. He held her tightly and delivered a sweet kiss to her neck.

“Hey babe did you get your drink?” He asked still only looking at her. Nodding she finishes what’s left in her glass before Seth takes it and gives it to the bartender. Moving her to his other arm he finally notices Mike that’s been starring in confusion. His smile disappears as he looks at him and scoffs, “Do you want to dance Pops?” stunned at his coldness Poppy simply nods. He looks back at her with a smile and takes her to the dance floor. A soft ballad played as he brought her in tightly to begin swaying back and forth. Poppy was stunned at how cold Seth had been able to get with Mike. She never thought he was capable of that kind of facial expression. It was as if someone else had taken over his body. “Are you ok?” he asks bringing her back from her thoughts.

“Y-yea I’m fine.” She looked at him, but his gaze was looking off into the distance. He had never not looked at her which caused Poppy to worry. “Are you ok?” she asked.

“No I’m not.” He said all too quickly.

“Why what’s wrong.” He sighs and turns Poppy around before bring her back to sway again.

“It’s you. You’re not telling me something, I can feel it.” Poppy hadn’t explained a lot about how her changes worked or how she changed a lot through the days of the full moon. She thought that it was too much of a burden for him to bear, especially with how worried he’s been over Jacob. “I want you to feel free to tell me anything. That’s the only way we can get closer as a couple.” He looks at her, finally, with worry filled eyes. “I want to protect you from everything I can. Even if that mean I have to protect you from yourself, but that requires you to trust me. I feel really hurt that you don’t want to tell me everything.” She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses his nose sweetly.

“I’m sorry, Seth. I just didn’t want you to have to worry about me. I have enough people worrying about me and didn’t want to add to the list,” he tries to interrupt, but she continues, “ ** _but_** I understand that it was wrong of me to keep you at bay. I’ll tell you everything you want to know… later like after the wedding. Okay?” She smiles brightly at him which makes his face light up in its usual glow. Seth was right about everything. Poppy needed to open herself up more to him, she just didn’t know how. Now was the time to try and be her ultimate self even if that meant opening up her past.

As the party reached its climax for the night Poppy and Seth had not stopped dancing which let most of their stress and worries out. They laughed with the Cullens and shared smiles with family that made them forget about what was on their minds. Seth suddenly wanted to take Poppy on a calm walk around the perimeter of the house. They admired the sky and trees until Jacob’s voice boomed through their ears. In a flash they headed to the scene that disrupted their romance. Staying back they watched as Edward and Jacob argued until Jacob decided to start getting too close. Seth immediately goes to grab Jacob, “Walk away Jake.” He says obviously struggling to keep him back. Jacob’s strength proves greater as he shoves Seth off him and he falls to the ground. Two more member of the pack run out of the wood in their human form to try and take Jacob, but he resists until Sam shows himself.

“Enough Jacob!” Quil and Embry are pushed away from him as he looks back at Sam.

“Stay out of this Sam!” he yells as he catches his breath.

“You’re not gonna start something we’ll have to finish.” Sam says calmly keeping his chin up to show that he’s the alpha.

“She’ll die.” Jacob continues.

“That’s not our concern anymore.” Silence fills the group as they all turn to Jacob. Getting up Seth watches as Jacob gives Bella one last look before disappearing into the woods. As Quil and Embry follow Sam stays starring at Bella and Edward before looking to the ground, “Let’s go Seth!” He yells in a deep voice. Seth looks back at the newlyweds and then at Poppy. With a hurt expression he runs off after Sam into the darkness of the woods.

“Seth!” Poppy exclaims as she runs closer to where he just disappeared from. With a quick turn she looks at Bella with black eyes. “No one can ever be happy with you around. You ruined everything.” She brushes past Bella and disappears into the house. Running up to her room she paces back and forth as she sorts out her own thoughts. She knew that she had been unnecessarily harsh on Bella, but for some reason she couldn’t hold her tongue. With her normal schedule she should be able to last one more day before wanting to tear someone’s head off.  Suddenly she feels her heart beat start to race and her vision focus. “Oh no.” She whispers to herself. Quickly taking off her clothes she puts on a simple night gown before dashing outside into the woods. As she finally gets far enough from the house a bone cracks and her transformation begins.


	18. Almost in Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy begins to have more control of her subconscious during her wolf form. Determined to figure out why that is she begins to research more about the Children of the Moon. With Bella and Edward gone Poppy feels the need to apologize in any way she can.

The full moon is big and bright as it shines down on Poppy’s grey fur. Normally after the transition her subconscious would literally sleep during this time. It was as her wolf form had an entirely new mind separate from Poppy’s normal one. Tonight however was the first time Poppy felt in complete control of her wolf form. She was able to think and go where she wanted. In complete freedom she dashed through the woods making the ground shake as her powerful paws hit the soft soil. As she came closer to some clean water she stopped and was finally able to see her wolf form up close. She’s only seen pictures that Carlisle had taken when they were first researching her habit. Those always ended up being blurry or out of focus, but now with Poppy’s superb vision her face was an interesting sight. She looked like a wolf, but yet at the same time didn’t. Her facial features were a little odd; she still looked like a wolf, but with subtle difference that Poppy was sure only she’d notice. Her eyes were larger and still grey only a yellow halo glowed around her pupils. She looked down at her full body and noticed how odd she was shaped. Her arms were longer than her legs and she had apposable thumbs; her stance somewhat resembled an ape. If it wasn’t for her face, hind legs, and grey fur people would probably mistake her for an ape.  Suddenly a deep howl is heard echoing through the trees and Poppy’s subconscious is pulled into the darkness.

She awakes to the greyness of the sun blocked by Forks usual ray of clouds. Sitting up she notices she’s lying near the river that separates the Cullen territory and the Quileute territory. As she gets up and stretches her right side is suddenly enveloped in pain. Poppy grabs it and feels the warmth of blood, “What the hell?” she asks out loud. Swallowing the pain she races back to the house, through the living room, and into her room. She didn’t need her family to see her naked this early in the day and decided to save herself the head ache. After putting on her ballet shorts and a plain sweater she finally heads back down stairs. Holding her side she tries to mask the pain, “Where’s Carlisle?” she asks Jasper who’s siting on the couch. Suddenly he’s at her side looking at her with concern.

“What happened?” he asks trying to move her hand away from her side.

“I don’t know. I just need Carlisle.” He scoops her up in his arms and takes her to Carlisle’s study. Bursting through the door Carlisle is taken aback by the sudden intrusion until he sees Poppy’s pained expression.

“What happened to you?” he asks as he motions to Jasper to lay her on the spare examination table.

“I don’t know. I woke up near the river like this.” He cleans up the wound and comes to the conclusion that Poppy must’ve gotten into fight with another animal.

“At least we know you can bleed, but what a… interesting scent.” He says. Jasper smirks at the remark, making Poppy squint her eyes at them both.

“Why what does it smell like to you guys? It doesn’t smell like anything to me.” Jasper shakes his head trying to get contain his laughter when Emmett is heard coming into the study.

“Wow where is that awful wet dog smell coming from?” Emmett pokes his head into the study, “Is Seth here?” he asks until he notices Poppy’s examination. “Oh whoops. Sorry.” Jasper burst into laughter as Carlisle looks back at Emmett’s face chuckling.

“Really that’s what it smells like to you guys?!” Poppy exclaims. As Carlisle finishes the wound cleaning and the boys laughter settle down Poppy is all healed up.

“Now there are scars left from the bite wound, but once you’ve feed you’ll be fine.” He helps her off the slab and ruffles her hair, “We learn new things about you every day don’t we.” He chuckles and goes back to his desk. Poppy begins to follow Emmett and Jasper out of the room when she stops and turns back to Carlisle.

“Do we have any books on the Children of the Moon?” With a furrowed brow he looks up at Poppy.

“I believe we have some, but I’m not sure. Why?” She shakes her head and smiles.

“Nothing I just wanted to research more on them. You know I was finally able to see myself clearly this time. I had been awake in my wolf form until I heard another wolf’s howl.” Carlisle eyes widen at the new information Poppy just gave him. This was considered a break through now that Poppy was able to be awake. He knew how much it bothered her that she could potentially be a danger to her family. Carlisle could tell how much it meant for Poppy to be more in control of her wolf form.

“That is excellent hopefully with time you’ll be able to stay awake for the whole night.”

****

“You want to what?” Rosalie asked Poppy. The whole family was gathered in the living room with nothing to do. Now that the wedding was over the amount of free time was eating away at the Cullens. They had graduated and Bella was now to come back to become a vampire which meant no more drama. They were free to do whatever they wanted, but the only problem was that there was almost nothing to do. None of them wanted to leave Forks since they’d have to leave after Bella’s ‘death’ so now Poppy had a stroke of genius.

“I want to build them like a little cottage. That way they can have some alone time when they come back, everybody knows there going to need it.” Everyone groans at the idea, except Alice. “Unless you want them to destroy this house instead.” She adds which changes everyone’s mind. Since vampires never tire or need to sleep or need to eat, newlywed vampires go through about a year of being inseparable. The Cullens know all too well that a couple can do a lot of damage to a house since the Rosalie and Emmett situation.

“Ok when you put it like that it does sound like a good idea.” Jasper says. Poppy smiled as the rest agreed and went to planning everything. She had felt so bad that she said those things to Bella and wanted to use all her power to make it up to her. Since Bella and Edward were on their honeymoon she couldn’t think of any other way than a little cottage for them. The family spends the next week and a half planning and preparing for this project. Everything seemed to be coming along smoothly until Alice has a disturbing vision.


	19. Sister Wall

The sound of a glass shattering is heard throughout the house and brings everyone’s attention to Alice in the kitchen. She’s dropped a small vase in in the sink and carries a fearful look in her eyes. Jasper is immediately at her side gripping both of her hands to send reassurance.

“What is it Alice?” Carlisle asks. She opens her mouth to say something, but instead goes to grab the house phone. She dials a number without saying anything to anyone making the family sit in silence as they wait for her to say something.

“Edward?” she asks into the receiver. “Bella, are you alright? Where’s Edward? Has anything happened? Is Edward okay?” She bombards Bella with question after question until Carlisle is by her side asking for the phone.

“Bella? Is everything alright?” He asks with concern dripping off every word. Poppy can hear Bella’s frantic talking and begins to look around at the family. The dreadful feeling of worry and gloom rushed over the living room in a matter of seconds.

“She’s pregnant.” Poppy whispers in astonishment, “How can that be possible?” she asks Carlisle as he finishes talking on the phone.

“We can’t be one hundred percent sure. I’ll have to wait to do some test on her; they’ll be here tomorrow morning.” Carlisle says. He sighs and sits in one of the tall kitchen stools. Even for a vampire you could see the years of worry written on his face. His dark circles were more prominent when he was in deep though or working intensely on a patient. Esme goes to his side and begins to rub caring circles on his back. Not knowing what to do the family waited, in a state of shock, for Edward and Bella to get back from Isle Esme.

Suddenly Rosalie’s phone is heard from the other room, ringing annoyingly. Going out of the room she takes the call, but in the midst of the conversation she goes into Poppy’s room. With the sound proof walls she is almost completely protected from everyone’s ears. Trying to listen to her through Poppy’s walls is like wearing earmuff in the winter. Nothing, but squeaks seep through the cracks in the walls. Curiosity getting the best of her Poppy goes to see who Rosalie was talking to. She quietly moves through the house and opens her door. In the darkness she sees Rosalie intently listening to the person on the other line.

“Bella are you sure you want to do this?” Poppy hears her ask. “Ok I will. I promise.” She hangs up and turns around to leave, but is stunned at Poppy’s figure appearing.

“Was that Bella?” She asked. Rosalie nodded and tried to leave. “What did she say? Is she okay?” Poppy asked as she blocked her sister’s escape.

“Yes she’s fine. She just needed some help.” She states.

“Help with what?” Rosalie looks at Poppy with cold eyes and pursed lips.

“Ok close the door and I’ll tell you.” With a grin Poppy does as she’s told and comes back with her arms crossed over her chest. “Bella wants to keep the baby and I want her too as well. Edward on the other hand wants Carlisle to get rid of the baby, so I’m going to protect her until its’s time.” Poppy isn’t surprised that Bella had called Rosalie for this certain task. Rosalie had always wanted children of her own, but was forced into the lifestyle that she’s in now. She knew that her sister wouldn’t just be able to sit back while they were destroying a precious baby.

“Is she absolutely sure about this?” Poppy asks. Rosalie nods and knowing her sister, Poppy knew that she would be a foul to stand in her way when it came to babies. Without any debate in her head Poppy shrugs and offers to help in any way possible, “Ok I’ll help, so what’s your plan?”

They stayed in Poppy’s room figuring out how they were gonna make sure no one was able to get their hands on Bella. There wasn’t any reason for Poppy to help, but she had a gut feeling that this is what she needed to do. There was something about this whole situation that made the wheels in her head turn more than they ever had. Also she felt that Bella should be able to make her own decisions with what she wants to do. No one should have a say with weather or not a baby is to be kept. If the mother is willing to have the child they should be supported until the end. Even if they didn’t know anything about this particular type of baby, Poppy was sure as hell gonna protect Bella.

Moments later the tires of a car is heard pulling into the driveway. Rosalie and Poppy make their ways down stairs to see everyone helping Bella inside. Instantly Poppy dashes down, scoops up Bella, and places her on the couch away from everyone else. Rosalie then comes by and stands in front of Bella with a look that could scare the shit out of anyone.

“Rosalie what are you doing?” Edwards ask. He tries to get to Bella, but Poppy grabs his hand and pushes it back. There was no malice in the shove, but it had enough strength to show they meant business.

“What is the meaning of this?” Carlisle asks in a father like tone. “We have to get that thing out before it hurts Bella.” He finishes.

“I don’t want to lose this baby.” Bella says from behind the sister wall.

“Bella,” Edward says almost pleading, “We don’t know what this thing is. We **_need_** to get this **_thing_** out of you before it kills you.” His voice almost breaks Poppy’s heart, but she stays solid knowing that Bella would never forgive Edward if he did anything to the baby. Carlisle motions his head at Jasper and Emmett as if they had prepared for this situation. Rosalie looks at Emmett with a malicious glare and delivers a snarl. His huge wall comes down and he looks at Carlisle with a sigh.

“I can’t Carlisle.” He says looking away from everyone. Jasper doesn’t give up as he circles around trying to get Rosalie on her bad side, but as he lunges to tackle her, Poppy comes out from his side view. On instinct she growl and feels her hand grow before she shoves Jasper hard enough to send him flying into the wall hiding the stairs. The family look at Jaspers knocked out body to Poppy and gasp.

“Poppy calm down.” Carlisle says holding his hands up in surrender. Her hand was covered in her grey fur and had grown a whole size bigger. Her canine teeth had enlarged and sharped, making them poke past her bottom lip. The yellow halo was circling around her grey eyes making everyone besides Carlisle cower in fear. As she faded back to normal she kept her eyes on Carlisle before a red tear drop fell from her eyes.

“What’s happening to me?”


	20. Pandora's Box

Poppy can do nothing, but stare blankly at the floor while having her knees up to her chest. After the little incident Poppy went into a catatonic state, feeling horrible about what she did to Jasper. Her body was changing in the weirdest ways. She didn’t know if these were changes or things that she never knew she could do before. It was as if she had retreated into her own mind getting lost in it as the guilt ate away at her.

“Are you ok Poppy?” Carlisle asks. The family hasn’t moved from the living room since Bella and Edward got back. Even though Jasper forgave Poppy she couldn’t help, but feel extremely guilty. She refused to move from her spot on the couch and refused to talk to anyone. “Poppy it’s been three days.” Carlisle continued. “You need to talk to me. No one is upset with you. It was my fault for telling Jasper to go after Bella.” Everyone looked at her with sympathy. They never knew how hard Poppy could be on herself for doing something as trivial as knocking out Jasper.

“We need to do something about her.” Esme said from beside Bella.

“Yes, but what. She won’t speak or acknowledge any of us.” Alice says. “We don’t even know where she is in her head.”

“I’m so sorry.” Bella says from the couch. Her color was getting worse by the day. The fact that she was still pregnant caused the family to divide itself. Seeing her wither away while trying to cling to the life in her stomach caused the household to suffer, “It’s all my fault that this happen. I’m the reason she’s like this.” Bella sighed and fiddled with her quilt.

“No Bella.” Carlisle says in a soft tone, “Poppy wouldn’t want you to feel that way.” She sighs and runs his hand through his hair. He didn’t understand what Poppy was going through either. With all the changes that she was going through he never thought that it would escalate this much. Carlisle felt he underestimated the wolf blood in Poppy from the start. He wanted to do more research to help her get through this, but he needed her to wake up from her state; to be with the family again. Suddenly a light bulb goes off in Emmett’s head.

“Maybe Seth can help.” Everyone turns to him as he walks closer to Carlisle. “They haven’t spoken in a while. He might be able to bring her out of this.” Immediately Jasper goes to Poppy’s phone and dials Seth’s number.

****

Seth laid in bed, snoring up the house as usual when his door swung open. “Hey get up we have to go already!” Leah yelled from the doorway. With sleep still clouding his eyes he lifted his head from the pillows and starred at the blurry version of his sister.

“What?” his voice sounded deeper than usual which startles Leah.

“We have to go Sam’s calling us.” He nods and slips out of bed. As of late Seth has been incredibly drained because of all the patrols and school. The good thing is that the family has finally given him permission to stop attending school if he wanted to. Now that he had imprinted on Poppy, who is unable to age, they knew he would keep his age frozen with phasing. He had mix feelings about not aging, but was glad that he would get eternity with Poppy.

They got to the pack house in no time and began their daily patrols. Sam was adamant about doing patrols more when things were calmed down. Now that there was no visible threat to the people of Forks he felt that there was only one way to go after this; preparing for the worst was his specialty. Leah and him patrol the nearby mountains where Victoria had been able to escape from them once before. Suddenly Jake’s hateful thoughts about the Cullens came into his mind. Seth began to grow worried since there was no way to keep Jacob from killing the entire Cullen clan.

_‘Leave it alone Jacob!’_ Sam’s voice boomed through the wolf line.

_‘But the treaty clearly states…!’_

_‘I SAY!’_ Everyone could tell Sam was fed up with how Jacob wouldn’t let the whole Bella thing go. We all felt the pain of him wanting and losing Bella. It was agonizing, even more so than Leah’s love triangle emotions. The patrol continues and eventually Jacob meets up with Leah and Seth. His thoughts get louder and start to make Seth’s blood boil. All he could see was Jacob thinking about how he would kill the Cullen clan. When Poppy’s face flashed through his head Seth snapped.

_‘Quit it Jake! Don’t you even think about hurting them!’_  It took all his power to stand up to his most precious role model. Even Jacob was stunned that he was able to growl at him like that. With a huff Jacob took off in the direction of the reservation.

****

“I left a message so hopefully he’ll be here later. Or call back.” Jasper said as they continued to watch Bella and Poppy. He looks at Edward, “What is she thinking?” he asks suddenly. Slightly taken aback Edward makes a face. He had never been asked to read someone’s mind before, besides Bella asking once, so it felt sort of odd to have to. Nevertheless he listened closely, but it was difficult to hear anything.

“Are you getting anything?” Carlisle asked.

“Kind of. It sort of muffled, but it’s like she’s playing movie in her head.” Edward closes his eyes to try and see closer into her mind. He sees a house and a little girl that looks like Poppy standing beside him. Her little red dress was blowing in the wind and her hair neatly curled making her look like a little doll. Her face was red and tear stained as she looked at the house while hiccups irrupted from her. He could feel the sadness and fear that she oozing off the shaking girl. Suddenly a man’s raspy, smoker voice croaked from the house sounding evil and malicious. The voice startles the little girl causing her to cower on the ground. _‘My little Poppy doll! Papa is here!_ Not being able to take any more of it Edward opens his eyes and focuses on someone else’s mind. That voice sent shivers down his spine as it replayed, echoing all around him.

“What did you see?” Carlisle asks.

“I think she was reliving a memory or having a horrible nightmare.” Edwards wipes his arms off as if to get the ugly feeling off of him. He had never felt so much horror from anyone’s thought, nor has he been able to see a memory as vivid as that.

“Memories?” Carlisle asked to himself. “She’s remembering her past.” He says astounded.

“But I thought she couldn’t remember her past?” Alice asked.

“Well she’s been changing a lot lately. Maybe this is her body’s way of showing that its trust her.” The whole family share questioning glances. They’ve never had the nerve to get completely engrossed in Poppy’s way of life, since she made sure they were all far away from it. Now that she was in this state they wanted to help her, but didn’t even know where to begin. They now wanted to know everything about Poppy and how her complex body operated.

“Carlisle… you know what she’s going through right?” Jasper asked.

He nods, “To some extent yes. I’ve also come up with some credible hypothesis on things we’re unsure about. Why do you ask?”

“I think it’s time we learn more about our sister.” Carlisle looks around at his children. They all shared the same look, a look that showed how much they cared about Poppy. Looking at Poppy’s still figure in the corner, brings fogginess to his eyes that is known to vampires as their tears.

“Ok, but I must warn you. This is like opening Pandora ’s Box and there is no going back. Once you know everything there will be things that you will be itching to know that we’ll never get the answer to. You all must be prepared to have questions that will never be answered.” They all nod in agreement and begin to open the vessel that is Poppy.


	21. Growth

Seth hadn’t gone back to his house that night, instead he slept at the pack house due to the over time of patrolling and perimeter checks. As he awoke from his slumber he thinks of Poppy realizing how much he misses her. The sound of her voice, the smell of her hair, the way she danced he remembers it all and whimpers as he hugs a pillow.

“Quit with the love shit.” He hears Embry say from the other bed in the room, “It’s too early for that crap.” Pouting he tries his hardest to think of something else, but his mind always does a 360 back to Poppy. If he thought of pizza he’d think of their first date; if he thought of school he’d remember how Poppy hated even the word. “Ok I’m up!” Embry says jumping out of bed. He scratches his bed head and makes his way to the restroom.

“Sorry.” Seth says softly. With a smile he reaches in his pocket to get his phone, but finds it missing. Then he remembers that he left it at his house since he was pretty much a zombie that morning. Getting up he throws on his favorite sleeveless sweater and goes downstairs. He thinks about booking it to the Cullens to surprise Poppy, but remembers how he left during the wedding. A worried expression makes its way on his face and sits there all through breakfast. He goes through the usual routine until Sam sends him to Billy’s to get Jacob. Which was a perfect opportunity to apologize to Jacob; he felt bad that he went off like that to Jake, but he couldn’t help it. If anything had happened to Poppy, Seth would lose it and might go after Jake. He didn’t like feeling angry or having any type of rage directed at someone and wanted to apologize, even him Jake didn’t want to do the same.

As he got to Billy’s he saw Charlie’s car parked outside in the driveway. He opens the screen door like it’s his own house and calls out Billy’s name. “Seth is that you?” he hears his mom voice call out.

“Mom?” he questions as he walks into the kitchen. He sees his mother, Sue, cooking something on the stove while Billy and Charlie are sitting on the couch.

“Hey honey, did you guys finish your run already.” He nods not questioning the scene anymore. He knew his mom and Charlie had been getting along pretty well since the wedding. Seth didn’t mind the new relationship because he wanted his mother to be happy. He hadn’t seen her smile since before his father died and felt it was time for her to find more happiness. Seth also knew that Charlie was a good man and that he would be able to take care of his mother, like she was able to take care of him.

“Hey Seth.” Charlie says coming up to him and extending a hand. Seth smiled and shook his hand like the man he is; he had always admired how manly and polite Charlie was.

“Hello Mr. Swan.” Seth said.

“Please call me Charlie.” He pats Seth’s shoulder and smiles at him. Billy makes his way over as well and motions to Seth to come closer.

“How has it been going?” He asks quietly.

“Oh fine. It’s been all clear so far.” He nods in approval.

“So what brings you here today kid?” Billy asks going to the table.

“I’m here to get Jake is he still asleep?” Seth starts to walk to the back of the house where Jacob’s room is when Billy stops him.

“He’s not here. He went on a little ride. I think he’ll be back in a couple of minutes. You can just wait here for him.” With a big smile Seth nods and takes a seat on the couch. Soon enough his thoughts of Poppy are interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle engine. Jacobs’s scent gets more prominent and he’s immediately disappointed. Every time Seth heard a motorcycle pass by  he was expecting to smell the sweet scent of Poppy.

Jacob figure burst through the door, “What’s going on?” he asks immediately.

“Bella called him.” Billy says not even looking up at his son. Charlie walks up to Jacob and offers his hand. Jacob shakes his hand eagerly trying to get him to spill what the Cullen’s have told him.

“Hey,” Charlie starts, “I haven’t seen you in a while. You doin’ alright?” Jacob nods and releases a big sigh.

“So you’ve heard from Bella?” he asks. Charlie nods and looks down at his feet making his worry more obvious.

“They’re extending their trip. She said she caught some bug and they want to wait till she feels better to travel.” Charlie sighs and looks around the house aimlessly.

“She sick.” Jacob asks, but makes it sound more like a statement.

“Yea,” Charlie runs a hand through his hair and down his face, “she told me not to worry, but she sounds a little… I don’t know off.?” You could tell Charlie was doing nothing, but worrying for his daughter. The fatherly instinct automatically kicks in whenever he hears something about Bella. Sue sets the table and begins to serve everyone.

“She’ll be okay Charlie. I’m sure of it. Come on let’s eat.” Everyone knew all too well that what Bella’s plan was and fought hard not to spill the beans to Charlie. Everyone in this crazy world felt bad for the few outsiders that made themselves apart of something they don’t understand. As the rage built up in Jacob he turns on his heels to head back outside. His father acting quick grabs his jacket sleeve.

“Let it go son. It’s done already.” Seth watches as Jacob pulls himself away from his father and out the door. He hears Jacob’s thought and the plans he goes through in his head. Jacob doesn’t realize that he’s screaming his thought to everyone in the pack as the rage takes ahold of him. Seth leaves quickly with a little goodbye and immediately phases. He runs as fast as he can to the Cullens to see how the scene will fold out. Seth didn’t want to alarm the Cullens and knew that they would be able to take down Jacob if they needed to, so he hid and listened. As Jacob got there Carlisle was already at the door he saw his eyes shift to where Seth was and smiled. Hiding deeper he tried to mask himself the best he could; all he cared about was that Poppy was safe. Being this close to the house he could smell Poppy’s sweet scent. He took it all in before Sam’s voice called to him. He called and called until Seth couldn’t take it. As he heard Jacob and the Bella talking calmly he left as swift as he came weaving through the many trees that crowd this forest.

Sam sent Seth and Leah to patrol the mountains again convinced that a vampire would like that escape route best. They searched and smelled for anything, but it was all clean with no trace of vampires anywhere. Suddenly the rage of Jacob was back as a howl sounded through the woods flying up to the mountains that Seth was at. Howling back the two wolves made their way to the quiet lumber yard on Sam’s orders. As they pack got closer together they began to call to Jake asking questions, making remarks on what they saw. Bella was pregnant with Edwards’s child. As the images of Bella flashed through the packs mind they saw how horrible Bella looked. It had only been two week since they came back from the honeymoon. She already looked like a walking skeleton with a huge baby bump. They knew it had to be something unnatural, but nothing  more than a vampire.

The pack circled around Jacob keeping up with the remarks until all that was heard was, _‘It must be destroyed!’_ Sam howls silencing the pack and they look up to his black figure.

_‘The Cullens have created something that they can’t control. That **thing** won’t be able to control its thirst. We must protect the tribe and the people.’ _ He says with his deep alpha voice.

_‘We’re ready!’_ Paul says. _‘We’ll handle it!’_

_‘Now you want to attack?’_ Jacob asks.

_‘Now is right. There is no time to waste. We must destroy it before it is born!’_  Jacob growls at the statement.

_‘You mean kill Bella?’_ Seth asks with a worry filled voice. He was so scared that he was going to have to fight the Cullens… fight Poppy. He refused to hurt any of them no matter what Sam said.

_‘Bella is human our protection applies to her!’_ Jacob states.

_‘She’s dying anyway!’_ Leah screams making Jacob snap at her. Only Seth and Jacob were the ones unwilling to move against Bella and the Cullens.

_‘Her decision affects us all. You both will fight with us.’_  Sam growls and makes Seth bow easily, but Jacob fights it. He snarls and snaps until he declares that he won’t follow. Seth watches in admiration as Jacob grows three times bigger than Sam. The second he saw Jacob grow and leave he decided to follow after his role model; he refused to stand behind someone who was willing to hurt Poppy. Sam knew that the Cullen’s wouldn’t let them get to Bella easily which meant a fight. They would rip the coven apart and Seth couldn’t bring himself to hurt his love let alone her family. With a howl he left Sam’s pack and followed Jacob to the Cullens. As he ran through the woods to meet Jacob he felt his whole body grow and his paws shrink. He was no longer the baby of the pack, but a full grown wolf willing to fight for the ones he loves and fight for what’s right.


	22. Finally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Cullens come together to try to bring Poppy back from her state. They start to learn about how her body and mind works. As they do that Jacob and Seth make their way over to warn the Cullen.

“Wait,” Emmett says stopping Carlisle’s lecture. The Cullens were going over the hypothesis that Carlisle had come up with on why Poppy’s body is changing so much. All of them had finally gotten the gist of how her wolf and vampire form work together and counteract. Since the guys knew some of it, the basic information was kind of like a review. There were still things that even Carlisle didn’t know about Poppy, but he still shared everything he knew about her with them. “Are you saying that her mind has a block on it?” Emmett asks.

“Yes. I’ve been monitoring Poppy’s body as well as her mind ever since she became a part of this family.” They were gathered around, still in the living room, as Carlisle kept his eyes on Poppy. “Although we’ve stopped having our meetings lately since we thought there wouldn’t be any changes. It’s been pretty normal until Poppy found Seth.” He does a routine check up on her taking her temperature, checking her pulse, and listening to her heart. There have been no changes in her state only that now she has closed her eyes and her heart is beating somewhat faster than it ever has.

“So do you think that finding her mate is what is triggering all these changes?” Rosalie asks from Bella side. Everyone was listening intently even Bella who was getting weaker by the minute. The house was full of chaos with Poppy checkups as well as Bella checkups. Carlisle closes his medicine bag and sighs.

“I think that it has something to do with it… but I think it’s deeper than that somehow. I know that her finding Seth helped her wolf blood come out more. Before she was somewhat more vampire than wolf, but now I think she finally might be equal parts of the two.”

“That’s why she’s able to phase parts of her body during the day now.” Jasper says.

“Precisely.” Carlisle states.

“Well what about her state of mind? Do you think the whole Seth thing has anything to do with that?” Bella asks from her spot on the couch.    

“That I’m not sure of yet. I know that before when we first started our meetings she had some sort of block on her mind. Causing her to not be able to go far into her past or see anything from her human life. Aro once said she came from a very troubled past, but when I found her she could no longer remember anything from her human life. It was as if the wolf blood in her had built a barrier around her memories until it felt she was ready to deal with it all.”

“That makes sense.” Alice suddenly interjects. Everyone turns and waits for her to elaborate. “Think about it for a second. The Children of the Moon are so much stronger than we are, so if the venom was able to make its way into our system it would obviously want Poppy to be as strong as she could be. If that is accurate then that would also mean it would try to block off any weaknesses or things that would be able to hurt her.”

“Like a terrible past.” Jasper adds knowing exactly what Alice was going to say.

“Exactly, maybe now that she’s found her soul mate her wolf part feels that she’s ready to deal with her ugly past.” She looks around at everyone. They’re starring at her like she’s just solved a missing child case and she smiles widely, “It’s just my theory anyway.” It had taken so much time for Carlisle to come up with his thoughts about how Poppy’s mind might work and it took a matter of seconds for Alice to come up with a reasonable explanation. He couldn’t help, but laugh as he thought about the many years he kept this from his kids.

“I wonder what is so bad about her past that makes it turn out like this.” Emmett says, “If it turns out to be like Alice says then is there a way we can help?” The family looks at each other with sad expressions. Even though they didn’t want to believe it they knew that they couldn’t do anything to help Poppy come back. Suddenly there is a knock at the door making the family jump to their feet. The all too familiar scent of Seth fills up the house and Carlisle immediately goes to bring him inside. With a small hello Carlisle drags him up the stairs and briefs him quickly on Poppy’s situation.

“Now we don’t know what to do, but I think if you say something to her she might come to.” Carlisle finishes. Seth was overwhelmed with what he saw there in that living room. Seeing Bella’s gray and skeletal face hit him hard, but then he saw Poppy huddled up in an arm chair with her eyes closed. She looked like a statue with her olive skin fading into a porcelain white like that of the Cullens. There was something so off about her that it made Seth feel like he was losing her. He was being pulled to her in a way that scared him, but he let it happen. Somehow he knew what he had to do; he didn’t need anyone to tell him what was wrong with her. As he got closer the sound of her fast heart caused him to whimper. Kneeling next to her he caressed her locked hands tracing her fingers and up her arms to her neck. The family watched in awe as they saw her color begin to slowly come back like seeing the fog clouding her slowly fade away. Seth leaned closer to put his face next to hers.

“Poppy.” He whispered softly, “Pops… I’m here. It’s ok you can come back.” Like a switch her eyes shot open. She looked around at all her family then beside her at Seth.

“What was that?” she asked. Everyone released a sigh in relief and smiled widely at Poppy. Her color was back to normal if not more golden. Seth hugged her and she smirks as he held her in his arms.

“Are you ok Pops?” he asks.

“Yes I’m fine. I think.” They break away and she looks to Carlisle.

“What happened?” she asked.

“You were in a catatonic state. You haven’t moved for about two weeks.” Carlisle says. “We were all very worried about you.” She smiles lovingly. “Are you feeling okay? Does everything seem normal?” Poppy waits and feels out her limbs, stretching her arms, toes, and fingers.

“Yea everything seems fine.” Poppy begins to stand when her knees buckle and give out. Seth catches her and gently places her back on the arm chair. “My legs kind of feel like jelly, but I think its cause I’ve been stuck in the same position.” Now that Poppy was back the family was even more certain that Seth was the reason for all the changes that were happening to Poppy. They knew that her soul mate was the cause of her unraveling as well as the key to her stability.

“Uhm is everything ok here?” Jacob’s voice suddenly came into the living room. He stays in the door way until the Carlisle recognizes him.

“Jacob.” He notices his worried expression and hardens his expression. “What’s the matter?” he asks.

“We’ve got a problem.” Edward starts shaking his head.

“They’re not gonna touch her.” His voice his cold and aggressive as he stands by Bella.

“What is it Edward?” Esme asks.

“The pack is coming after Bella.” Jacob states. Everyone sits up and furrows their brows at the new information. With Poppy now back to normal there was no distraction at the bigger problem in hand. Bella’s baby, the unknown thing growing inside Bella’s fragile body causing the family to feel down no matter how happy they might be about Poppy. “They’re convinced Bella’s baby is going to cause a massacre and want it gone. Sam thinks that destroying it before its born is the best option.” Bella caresses her enlarged stomach. The family sits still stunned at the fact that the pack would be so quick to go against the treaty. Jacob sits down next to Bella and addresses the group, “Sam’s lost the element of surprise, so he won’t attack you head on. He doesn’t want to take you on outnumber; he’s got the place surrounded and he’ll wait for the right opportunity.”

“He won’t get through without a fight.” Emmett says with his chest huffing and puffing in anger.

“No fight.” Carlisle says in a stern voice, “We won’t be the ones to break the treaty.”

“Carlisle that doesn’t make sense,” Poppy interjects. “If they come at us we’ll have no choice, but to fight.”

“She’s right.” Jacob says, “Besides the treaty is void at least to Sam.”

“Not to us.” Esme adds, suddenly Emmett moves forwards to Carlisle view.

“Carlisle, no one’s hunted for weeks.” He says with concern dripping from his voice. Turning to him Esme’s face is stern and motherly.

“We’ll have to make do.” Jasper and Emmett share a look, but nod in understanding. They knew it would be suicide to go out there with the place surrounded. Poppy felt a horrible sinking in her stomach as she heard her family hadn’t hunted for weeks. The facts that they had stayed indoors watching her and taking care of Bella made her feel even guiltier than ever.

“No Poppy it’s not your fault.” Edward whispered to her, “Stop being so hard on yourself.”

Carlisle sighs, “You’ve done us a great service Jacob, Thank You.” Jacob nods and looks at Bella with a sweet smile. Carlisle then got up and went to his study. After a couple of minutes he called Bella in to do another checkup. As Poppy saw Bella’s figure she began to worry at how skinny she looked, how grey her skin was. She wondered if Bella was making the right decision to keep this baby… was if worth her life?

“Pops.” Seth calls to her. She looks to him with questioning eyes. “Are you really ok?” he asks sweetly. Poppy had almost forgotten how cute he could be with his face always happy or worried. She ran her fingers through his messy hair and smile down at his kneeling figure.

“Yes I’m fine.” She says, “That was a weird experience though.” She looked at the remaining people in the room.

“What did you see?” Alice asked crossing her legs on the ottoman she sat on. Poppy hesitated for a second thinking that it would be better if she didn’t say anything. It was some pretty dark stuff that she dealt with in her head that made her think it’s be too much for her family.  

“Poppy were your family.” Edwards says, “We are here for you.” Without needing to say anything else he feels Poppy’s guard come down as she smiles.

“Well,” she begins, “I say my human life.”


	23. Once a Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chapter dedicated to the human life of Poppy.

Poppy Sue Smith was born 1944 to a Native American women and Englishman in the town of San Diego, California. Charles Smith who was devilishly handsome with chestnut brown hair, tall stature and hazel eyes was a shop keeper that led a simple life. At age of 22 he met Patricia Lee while walking by the San Diego Bay on winding afternoon. It was love at first sight even though Charles was too scared to make the first move. As they began to date the fact that she was Native American caused a scandal in the little neighborhood they were from. Despite all that after 2 years of dating they married and were blessed with Poppy on February 3, 1944. Unfortunately on May 16 her father, Charles, was drafted into World War II and on the dreadful D-Day her father died in battle leaving her mother and Poppy alone. Being a fragile woman Patricia was not able to go through her life by herself and remarried after a year of being a widow to a man named Gary Brown.   

As Poppy Sue grew up she took on her mother’s features like her long, straight, black hair and her brown, reddish skin; but her eyes were that of her fathers. Hazel almond eyes that could stop anyone in their tracks grazed Poppy Sue’s face. She also took after him personality wise with her sweet expressions and model citizen attitude. Even at the young age of 2 she was always helping someone in need, but there was a dark presence that desperately tried to rob that smile away from her. Mr. Gary Brown had a secret that he never told anyone… not even his family. He was evil and cruel to Poppy Sue throughout her childhood who would verbally abuse her. By the time she turned 6 he moved from verbal to physical abuse resulting to sexual abuse on a daily basis. He traumatized her in ways no child should be tainted, especially by someone she was supposed to trust. She became accustomed to the abuse that there was a mental schedule she kept. Every night by ten o’clock she’s hear him leave his room and slowly make his way to hers. His eerie smoker voice would come in and call her name, “Poppy Sue,” he’d sing. “My little Poppy doll, Papa is here.” Like a twisted lullaby it would ring in her head until he was done for the night.

It wasn’t until four years later when the Ringling Brothers made their way to San Diego, in 1954, did she get a chance to escape. After seeing an amazing performance and befriending one of the children of the circus she made plans to run away at the dead of night. On the last day the circus was in town she took the clothes on her back and slipped out her bedroom window two hours before her stepfather’s abuse.  Pleading to the leaders of the Ringling Circus to take her far away from here they felt pity and took her in gladly. Throughout her travels they taught her various skills like sewing, juggling, balancing, even contortionism, until she found her true calling trapeze. Since she was small and young her body was able to move in way the grown performers were not. Poppy Sue was a natural and completely unfazed by the height and proved herself to her circus family. She became a part of the show immediately known as Poppy Darling. Once the Ringling Brothers were able to go over overseas Poppy parted with the circus when a ballet school head mistress took interest in her one performance night, “You have raw talent child.” She told her. “It is up to you if you want to stay or not. I understand this circus is your family, but think of your future. I’ll be waiting.”

It took some thinking, but the circus ended up letting her go with a smile. Even though they were sad to see her leave they knew that she was capable of so much more and wanted her to be able to reach her full potential. At the age of 12 she joined ‘Mistress’ Olive’s Ballet School’ in Vienna, Austria. There she studied dance with the utmost discipline and, like other talents before, she took to it easily. She never stopped at good despite the many compliments from her teachers; she always felt that she was capable of great. Never stopping she became one of the youngest accomplished dancers in Austria, to be the leading lady in the company when she turned 18. Unfortunately the night after her sixteenth birthday, as she was walking back from delivering a late package to her circus family she was attacked. A vampire by the name of Tobias Huber dragged her into a nearby sewer and turned her. He was obviously handsome, but there was something off about his features. His blonde hair was messy and looked like someone constantly ruffled it. He was short compared to most men reaching only 5’2 which was barely taller than Poppy. His eyes were bugged and a beautiful blue color, though dark circles circled around them. If he didn’t look tweaked out people would’ve probably mistaken him for one of the beach boys.

The year with him was probably one of the most awkward times of Poppy’s life. He’d make her do all sort of strange things like eat this, seduce that man, or hold onto him. He was always hungry for affection which wasn’t something that Poppy was all too comfortable with. Tobias always needed reassurance that Poppy was never going to leave him. He taught her the basics of feeding, but they hardly went out to socialize or even choose a good source of blood. It was always the first person he would see that he’d make Poppy use her power to bring them around. As the year was getting closer to end Poppy could tell that he began to resent her for her gift as well as the not so affectionate side of her. On the last day they were together he threw a fit about Poppy’s unwillingness to kiss him.

“Why won’t you just do it? I made you for me!” He screamed making his voice echo in the alley they were in. She shushed him, scared that he would draw attention.

“I do not understand why I need to kiss you.” Poppy calmly told him, “I did not sign any contract stating I had to kiss you.” He huffed and stomped on the ground like an angry toddler.

“But I made you! There should be some affection coming from you, no?” Poppy crossed her arms and popped her hip out. She shook her head at him, “You are not attracted to me? Is there no love here?” he asks Poppy.

“If I am being completely honest… no.” she answered, “You are the one that took me away from my dreams. Even if you are my maker it is not like I asked you to make me in the first place.” As she said that she felt a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders and to her surprise Tobias looked somewhat relieved. He chuckled softly as he looked to the sky for a minute. Then with a huff and flap of his dumb cape he turned on his heels, leaving Poppy alone in the alley. Poppy did go back to their little dirt hole that he called an apartment, but he never came back. She went through a year by herself and worked on her power. There were times she became a little lonely and think about her maker only to forget him again once she remembered his little quirks. The year she got a chance to travel to Italy she made the fateful decision to hunt close to a church. Since her power wasn’t in perfect shape it weakened if she lost focus in the slightest, ultimately making her lose her dinner. In a rush throughout Venice she was met by Jane and Alec who then took her to Aro; the rest is old news.

As her story unfolds there are many secrets that can never be known, even to Poppy. Secrets of a race are to never be known with the Children of the Moon practically extinct. Yet, nothing is stopping Poppy from living her eternal life to the fullest. With her soulmate, Seth, by her side she is able to go through her eternity without ever feeling scared of being one of a kind.  


	24. The New Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Bella pregnancy makes the family break out in another fight when Carlisle and Poppy discover something about her state. Poppy opens up more to Seth since his declaration of loyalty to the Cullens.

The days began to blend together as the Cullens waited for Bella to give birth. Every day was the same routine; Bella’s checkups, research, patrol, repeat. Since Sam refused to back down, the Cullen’s were slowly starving changing their golden eyes to a deep black. Poppy was the only one who could mask her thirst with simple salads, but she was itching to have something to drink besides water. It was like they had all ran a one hundred mile marathon with no water. Their throats burned, but there was nothing they could except endure it.

“Are you ready for your checkup Bella?” Carlisle asks as he comes out of his office. She nods with a smile and waits for Rosalie to help her up. With Rose and Poppy by her side they ease her into Carlisle’s make shift examination room. Poppy had been helping Carlisle with monitoring Bella and her condition. There was nothing, but bad news every time they put in her on the examination; today was no different.

After an hour of checkups Carlisle calls Edward into the room with them, but talks to him outside before going in to see Bella. Her face was skinnier than the day before, making her cheeks more hallow, her lips were dry and cracked. Her hairline was beginning to gray and thin out leaving her with small bald spots. She looked like a walking skeleton with a huge bruised stomach. Poppy places the new x-rays of Bella on the dark standard illuminator once Edward and Carlisle come back in. As she turns it on the image of Bella’s spine and ribs are put on display.

“Your spine is fine for the most past,” Poppy starts, “But its looks like some of your ribs are broken.” She points to a rib that is clearly bents and caving in.

“There are no splinters though.” Carlisle says reassuringly. “You haven’t punctured anything.” He looks to Bella and offers a sweet smile. Even though she was against her having the baby he knew that she wasn’t going to give it up. In the end he just wanted to make sure she felt taken care of and felt that he was going to do whatever he could to help her.

“You haven’t punctured anything **_yet_** he means.” Edward says. He shoves his hands in his pockets angrily.

“Edward.” Carlisle says trying to get his son to ease up.

“No Carlisle.” He looks at Bella not concerned about letting his anger show. “Can’t you see what it’s doing to you!? It’s crushing you from the inside out.” He turns to Carlisle, “Tell her what you told me.” Carlisle looks at him with blank eyes and looks at Poppy, who knew what Bella was in for, “Tell her.”

Bella sniffles back tears, “It’s okay Carlisle. Tell me; I can take it.”  

“The fetus isn’t compatible with your body and it’s not allowing you to get the nutrients you need.” He lets out a heavy sigh, “At this rate your heart will give out before you can even deliver.” Poppy could feel how hard it was for Carlisle to break this news to Bella. He loved and thought of Bella like a daughter and wished that there was something else he could do.

“Then I’ll hold on for as long as I can.” Bella says determined to see this through. Poppy goes to her side and rubs her shoulder.

“Bella there are things that venom just… can’t overcome.” She says. “It’s starving you by the minute we can’t stop it or slow it down.” Seeing the information sink in her eyes is heartbreaking. There was nothing that could be done to help her, but deep down Bella knew there was no other way. She was going to have this baby even if it was the last thing she did. “I’m sorry.” Poppy says as her and Carlisle leave the room. They stayed by the door letting their emotions calm down, something the father/daughter pair did often. They were so alike in many ways that Carlisle sometimes thought she was from his own loins. He looked at Poppy suddenly as they leaned against the door frame. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she worried about everything.

With a smile he goes to ruffle her hair, “Are you alright?” he asks. She looks up without clearing her expression, which is a first.

“I’m fine, but a little scared about what’s going to happen.” He nods his head and puts his arm around her. As they begin walking down the hallway he keeps her close feeling her warmth, and irregular heartbeat.

“Me too,” is all he says. Carlisle goes to join the rest of the family in the living room while Poppy goes to her own room. She hadn’t been in her own domain for a while and wanted to stretch out her limbs more. Often times when she was worried or stressed she took to dancing and thought that now would be a great chance. Putting her hair up in a neat bun, she changed into one of her grey leotards and grey shorts. She laced up her ballet shoes around her ankles and completely covered her tips in rosin. Since it had been some time since she danced, she put more effort into her stretches before even choosing a song. Poppy stretched her legs, toes, arms, everything she knew needed to come out of hibernation. As she stood stretching her back and waist she had an idea pop into her head. The image of her old trapeze exercises came to mind and floated around.  With a smirk she stood up straight and closed her eyes imagining her old circus family.

The elephants and animals making noises around the tent, the clowns and mimes drunken poker games, the fire eaters throwing their fire ball to scare the children, the contortionist trying to slide into their most difficult pose, Poppy remembered it all. The smell of hay and gunpowder clouded her noses as the memories of the best days of her life flooded into her memory. Opening her eyes she bent forward letting her hands touch the ground and with a slight hop of her legs she was in a neat hand stand. Her arms were steady and solid compared to her shaky and insecure human arms. Laughing at how easy it was for her, she bent her arms slightly and brought up one hand. With her now balancing on one arm she let her legs fall into a spilt and grabbed her left ankle with her free hand. With grace she twisted her hips and bent her left leg back to touch the ground and slowly snapped back into a standing position.

“Wow!” Seth says as he finally comes into the room. He had come up to see how she was doing when he came across her practice session.

“Were you spying on me?” Poppy asks. He tilts his head to the side and put his finger on his lip.

“Hmm yes.” He walks up to her and snakes his arms around her waist. “Where did you learn to do that? It was so cool!” She smiles and stares at Seth. She takes in his features that she hasn’t been able to see in what feels like forever. His child like face was beaming with joy despite the situation they were in.  She never realized how much she missed him until she felt his strong, warm arms around her. Poppy laid her head on chest and sighed in content. “Pops?” he asks; his voice was deep and full of emotion. “Are you ok?”

“Yea I’m fine.” She leaves his arms and goes to her wooden bar to stretch some more. Seth jumps on the day bed next to her and watches Poppy’s every move. He loved to just look at her when she did anything. The way she moved was so graceful and fluid, even more than the Cullens. You could tell there was something different about her just by the way she moved.

“So where did you learned how to do all this stuff?” Seth asked again. She brought her head up from stretching out her right leg on the bar and looked at him sweetly.

“What stuff? This or the flip I did before?” She took her leg back and swung it gently from side to side.

“You didn’t learn it in the same place?” He lied on his stomach with his face in his hands like a star of a teenage chick flick. Poppy shook her head and began her regular ballet warms ups.

“Nope I learned how to do a lot of stuff in both the circus and my ballet school.”

“You were in a circus?!” He exclaimed. She couldn’t help, but laugh at how excited he sounded.

“That’s right. I was one of the leading trapeze artist in the Ringling Brothers Circus. Gosh those were the best times of my life. Seeing and hearing the crowd; being so high that I felt like I could touch the stars; whipping through the sky as if I was an owl gliding above a forest.” Her smile began to disappear as she realized those days were long behind her. Noticing Seth stare at her she lifted up an end of her mouth to give a little smile.

“Were you parents in the circus?” Seth asked. Poppy looked to the ground remembering the why she had been in the circus in the first place. Pushing away the maliciousness of those times she continued stretching.

“Uh no,” Usually a vampire had some time that they’d eventually come to terms with their past, but Poppy was a different case. She had been without those thoughts for so long that a small pinch of pain still lingered. “No I left home to join the circus when I was ten.” She snickers, “You know the movies about children running away with the circus were modeled after me.” Seth chuckles, but notices her uneasiness on the subject. Knowing that Poppy was like an onion he decided not to pry any further.

Instead he changed the subject somewhat, “So you went to ballet school also?” Poppy nodded and moved away from the bar. She twirled and twirled until she stopped on one foot; taking the unbalanced foot she extended it up and let her head fall down until she flipped over lading with the same foot balancing her.

“Can’t you tell?” She said looking coolly at Seth. His jaw dropped and he shot up to his feet clapping. Poppy twirled and did a polite curtsey. The couple stayed in Poppy’s room until Seth was called down to do a parameter check with Leah, who refused to be anywhere except outside. She still hadn’t completely come to terms with the Cullens, but she knew what she was fighting for. Deciding to stay down stairs with her family Poppy made herself a salad. Her throat was burning like crazy and the cold damp lettuce helped sooth it somewhat. As she sat in between Jasper and Emmett, while they watched football, she saw them sneak glances at her eating. “What?” she asked getting irritated.

“You’re so lucky you can eat that stuff.” Emmett says. Jasper nods in agreement and licks his dry lips. She felt bad that they had nothing to help with the throat torture like she did, but it still wasn’t a walk in the park for her either.

“Honestly it still does nothing. I’m only eating it to try and cool off my throat, but it’s like eating wet sand at this point. Do you want to try it?” She asks her brothers. Emmett makes a ‘bleh’ face, but Jasper is intrigued by the offer. He was the one that was probably having the worst time with having Bella and Jacob’s pack here. Poppy could only imagine what he was going through.

“I’ll try it.” He simply says. Poppy grabbed a piece of lettuce in her fork and holds its up to Jasper’s mouth waiting for him to open up. He smells it, hesitating to even lick it, but he ends up opening his mouth letting Poppy drop it in. He chews with his eyes closed shut making his expression hard to read. He swallows hard and continuously smacks his mouth open.

“Well?” Emmett asks. Jasper holds a hand up to his cheek and rubs his chin. He thinks and thinks until finally he sighs.

“You know it wasn’t bad…, but it was not good.” The family laughs as Emmett groans realizing all hope is lost. Suddenly Bella jolts up from her nap on the sofa. She makes a sound that is between a cry and screech alarming everyone. As everyone looks at her she holds a hand up and exhales a heavy breath.

“I’m ok. Sorry.” She scoots up and places her head on the arm rest.

“How long are you going to keep this up Bella?” Edward asks seeming extremely irritated.

“Edward, please…” Bella whispers. He looks away from her and stares at Alice.

“I still can’t see it.” She says coming to sit next to Jasper. “If I could just see the fetus,”

“The baby.”  Rosalie corrects her, but she ignores it.

“Maybe I could see what it wants.” Alice finishes.

“Well we know it doesn’t want food.” Jacob says coming in to sit next to Bella. Seth prances in and sits on the floor under Poppy’s feet. He lets her legs dangle on his shoulder as she stretches down to rest her chest on top of his head gently. She puts her salad bowl in front of his face and offers him some, which he takes gladly. Everyone remains quiet not sure what to say as they look at either Bella or the new couple.

“You may be right.” Edward suddenly says. “Jacob just had a thought.” He says getting everyone attention.

“What were you thinking?” Carlisle asked.

“It was just a little comment, like the thing probably is just looking for someone to sink its teeth into.” He says chuckling. Bella looks at Edward with big eyes and rubs her stomach.

“He’s thirsty.” She says.

Emmett gulps and licks his lip, “I know the feeling.” Poppy laughs at the comment, but quiets down when she sees everyone isn’t laughing.

“If it’s craving it’s not gonna want animal blood.” Edward says. Carlisle is already gone and comes back instantly.

“We have some o-negative set aside for Bella.” Poppy says. She looks to Jasper and Emmett, “You guys should probably go on a walk or something.” Alice takes Jasper by the hand and leads him out of the room while Emmett follows after them. Only the pros and wolfs remain. The sweet scent fills the air around them and makes Poppy’s throat tighten, but she shakes her head. She didn’t want to lose control especially is she hadn’t fed in a while. She held her breath and began to gobble down on the rest of her salad. They watch Bella drink in anticipation and come to find out it taste amazing to her.

“It tastes really good actually.” She says smiling. Everyone releases a sigh of relief as Carlisle checks her.

“Your pulse is already getting stronger.” Now that Bella was able to eat she put Edward to work with her first dish of choice… eggs. Even though they couldn’t really hang around Bella a lot the family was extremely relieved that Bella was starting to look like normal. Her color came back somewhat and with her being able to eat she didn’t look some much like a skeleton anymore. Things were finally starting to turn up… or so they thought.  


	25. Negotiations

Seth is filled with joy when he opens his eyes to see Poppy sitting next to him. After a long parameter run he felt exhausted and fell asleep in Poppy’s arms in the living room. Her face glimmered golden as a piece of sunlight made its way out from the clouds and shined on her. She twirled his hair as she threw her arms up cursing at an unknown gameshow. The room was semi-silent with only the sound of the TV, Bella and Jacob talking, and the constant hum of air condition. Seth sighed and nestled into Poppy more.

“Did I wake you?” She asked looking down at him. He shook his head and smiled up at Poppy. Her gorgeous hair was down in a messy braid reminding him of his mother. He had been thinking about her quite often now that he wasn’t a part of the tribe pack. Had she felt him leave? What was she doing right now? Had they told her, he betrayed the pack? There were so many things going through his mind that he thought about every day. Noticing his worried expression Poppy held him close and rubbed his head soothingly.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he started brushing his thoughts under the rug, but stopped himself. He didn’t want to make Poppy feel like he was hiding something. Nor did he want to actually keep something from her. “I’m just worried about my mom.” With his head against her chest he could hear her abnormal heartbeat. To everyone else it sounded like a broken metronome, but to Seth it sounded like a music box playing a different melody with each thump.  He could tell she felt uneasy about what he had said which was true. She didn’t know how to respond and often thought about Sue as well. She’d rather have him at home with her, but Poppy knew that he would never leave her side with the danger she was in.

“I’m sorry.” Was all she said as she hugged him tighter. Returning her embrace he shook his head once more.

“It’s not your fault. It isn’t anybody’s fault.” They stayed in silence till the sun began to finally go down. Suddenly standing up Jacob turns to Seth and Poppy. His face is solid and cold, but filled with gentleness.

“Let’s go Seth.” With a nod he sits up in Poppy’s arms.

“I’ll be back later.” She nods and he gives her a kiss on the forehead before leaving with Jacob. Once the sun went down Jacob, Seth and Leah would go on checks just to make sure Sam’s pack wasn’t trying to get in from anywhere else. They hadn’t caught whiff of anything so far and now are just waiting for Bella to give birth so they can end this. In all seriousness none of them thought that Bella was going to survive; there was no way she could.

“Enjoying your new family?” Leah asks Seth as they watch the river. Jacob sent the brother/sister pair to watch the river dividing the two territories while he went on a run to check the rest of the parameter. Leah was the only one who wouldn’t set foot in the Cullen’s house or take anything from them. She would’ve been starving if she hadn’t been able to catch a wandering deer once.

“Shut up Leah.” Seth said. He was always irritated at how she couldn’t come to terms with his situation. They had gotten past her being a total bitch to Poppy, but there was always a coldness towards she oozed out at her. Seth knew that she resented all vampires because of her father’s death, but he wanted her to move on. Of course she had every right to feel bad for adding to the heart attack, but the mourning period was up and over. Even their mother was starting to move on and accept their father’s death. It also irritated Seth that he couldn’t help her in anyway. He always had to watch her suffer alone, unable to feel the length of what she went through.

Suddenly the bush across from them rustles and Paul, in his wolf form, come outs beside Jared, in his human form. “We need to talk.” He says. Leah looks to Seth deciding weather it is a trick or not, “We need to talk to all of you.” He says this time extremely adamant. The pair howls a warning signal to Jacob, who replies almost immediately. They all move to another location deeper into the woods were the river ends and nothing but trees scatter around them. Jacob gets there and his pack forms a small triangle to make a stance. Jared, still in human form, Quil, Paul, and Collin emerge from the forest.

“It’s nice to see you guys.” He says with a sarcastic smile. Jacobs keeps an intimating face on and plants his paws deep into the ground. “Look, Sam wants you guys back; all of you. You guys are tearing the family apart over this thing that may not even be alive.” He starts to get angry, but calms himself down before going any further. Seth thinks about what he’s saying a little more. He was scared of doing anything to the family and didn’t want this to escalate. He only wanted to do what’s right and protect Poppy. Jared sniffles and huffs before continuing, “Sam says the threat that the unborn child possesses can wait until it separated from Bella. We just want you guys to come back home.” Jacob’s look softens and he looks around for his best friend, Embry, but doesn’t see him. He doesn’t feel him hiding in the darkness either.

_‘Leah, go double check the parameter.’_ Jacob says suddenly. He wouldn’t put it past Sam to try a sneak attack during this negotiation. She nods and scurries off into the darkness closer to the Cullens house. Once she’s gone Jacob phases out of his wolf form and stares up at Jared, “Leah and Seth are free to go if they want, but I’m staying no matter what.” Jared looks at Seth and nods his head.

“Are you coming home, Seth?” He looks to Jacob and back at Jared and his lowers his wolf head. He steps back, but stays on Jacob’s side, “You’re really gonna stay here!?” Jared yells.

“The situation isn’t just about my feelings for Bella.” Jacob says, “It’s about protecting those who should be protected. I’m not angry with Sam anyway, but there can’t be two Alphas in one pack.” Something flashes in Jared’s eyes as he realizes that he won’t be able to get through to Jacob; he turns to Seth again and shows a sinister smile as Leah comes back to them.

“You’re really gonna leave Sue like that?” Jared throws a low-blow at Seth, “After Harry just died, you really want to leave her alone.” Seth is stunned at what he says, but Jacob steps in noticing how wounded he is by the statement.   

“Sue is surrounded by the Elders so she’s not alone. Also she has yet to come and get neither Seth nor Leah” Jacob smirks as he puts a dent in Jared’s plan to use the guilt trip. “Sue is stronger than any of us. I’m sure she’s fine.” He looks at Seth and see’s the reassurance on his face.

“And what about you Leah! You hate the Cullen’s, so why are you even here?!” Jared exclaimed. He sighs, “Come on Lee-Lee.” He says softly using her old nickname. “Sam wants you back where you belong. If you really wanted to protect your brother you’d come back to the pack.” At this point he’s desperate and starts to over play the message given to him by Sam. Unexpectedly Leah growls lightly forcing Jacob to step in again.

“I think Leah is able to make her own choices on where she belongs.” He said what she was feeling. She hated being told what to feel or where to be, especially when it came from Jared. Jacob feels the defeat coming from Jared and steps a little closer, “We know that we are all family, but right now we’re in a feud that will pass. Tell Sam that in order to prevent any unnecessary bloodshed or misunderstandings; it would be wise to keep to our own sides of the line. If communication is necessary we’ll howl to call a meeting, but there will be no crossing of sides.” Jared nods.

“Let me ask you, where is your land? Are you guys a part of the vampire’s family now?” Jacob simply smiles and turns around. He knew that Seth was feeling at home here, but as for him and Leah it was a complicated situation. As Jared and his guards leave Jacob turns to them again remembering something.

“Hey, why isn’t Embry here? Did he not want to come?” he asks. Jared spits on the floor and glares back at Jacob.

“You’re no longer privy to pack business.” With another spit he takes off. Quil hangs back and looks at Jacob with sweet eyes.

“I miss you and Embry too. Now go home.” He says to Quil. He hesitates, but follows after the others leaving Jacob, Seth, and Leah alone under the starlight.

“What was that about?” Leah says. They’ve shifted out of their forms and are having a little pow-wow by the back steps of the Cullen house.

“The only reason Quil was allowed to backup Jared tonight was because they’re probably holding Claire over his head.” He says gently throwing rocks around.

“Why would they do that?” Seth asks starring up at Jacob from the rock he’s sitting on. “Wait, did he want to leave too?”

“Probably or they were afraid of me trying to convince him. But he won’t come because he has Claire to go back to.” The three stare off into the distance thinking about how crazy the situation has gotten.

“That’s why Embry wasn’t there.” Leah states staring at her shoes. Jacob nods, but Seth tilts his head to the side still thinking about it.

“Why wasn’t Embry there?” Seth asks

“Oh gosh really?!” Leah shouts to him. Jacob laughs and shoves Seth lightly.

“Sam knew that it’d be easier for Embry to just leave with us since they don’t have anything keeping him there.” Seth nods in understanding, “Did you really not get that? How are you so slow?” Seth takes offense and shoves Jacob jokingly.

Leah laughs, “Mom dropped him a lot when he was a baby.” They laugh together outside until Seth goes inside to hang out with Poppy. Leah offers to do another parameter check just in case Sam’s pack went against their words and Jacob agrees. As Jacob walks in Poppy and Carlisle ask to speak with him in the reading room.

“What is it?” he asks. The hand him a signal packet of o-negative blood and look at him with worried faces.

“This is the only pack we have left. She’ll need much more if she has any chance of surviving.” Poppy says.

“I just spoke with some of Sam’s guys, but we haven’t cleared the area yet.” He says.

“But they’ve agreed to keep away?” Carlisle asks.

“They haven’t gotten it back to Sam, but I’m pretty sure he’ll okay it. You guys just need to sit still until we find out.” Poppy shakes her head.

“They need to go now if they want to be back in time. Bella could deliver at any minute. Carlisle also needs to feed.” Carlisle looks at her with questioning eyes. “You need to be at your strongest for her. They need to go tonight.”

“Carlisle if they don’t know about our negotiations then they won’t hesitate. You will be slaughtered.” He looks out the window to see if Leah has made it back, but sees nothing.

“We’ll go right now. I don’t care what’s out there. Emmett will accompany us as well,” he turns to Poppy, “Go and tell your brother to get ready.” Jacob watches Poppy leave and looks back at Carlisle.

“You would do that for her?” he asks. He was stunned that they would even consider going these lengths to help Bella.

“Of course she’s a part of our family now. We’ll do anything for her.” With a nod Carlisle disappears after Poppy. They get Emmett and Esme to go with Carlisle on the feeding trip. Poppy hands them a back pack, to carry the blood in, before they head out into the unknown. Even if they didn’t know what dangers awaited out there they knew that losing Bella not an opinion. Poppy stayed behind to look after Bella and hoped… prayed they would come back quick.


	26. Humming Bird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> : Bella goes into labor while Carlisle is out hunting. After a huge fiasco Poppy is able to deliver the baby.

Overtaken with anticipation Poppy had paced the living room waiting for Carlisle to return. Bella, Edward, and Seth sat there watching her. Seth had tried to calm her down or just get her to sit down, but her nerves kept eating at her. ‘ _I should’ve gone with them!_ ’ she kept yelling to herself. Suddenly Seth leaped from his spot on the couch next to Bella, who he was keeping warm, and jogged to Poppy’s room. He comes back and takes Poppy by the hand, “What?” she asks surprised at his actions.

He says nothing only sits her down and kneels down to grab her foot. As he takes off her house shoe he stares up at her with a smile, “I already know you’re worrying about something that is out of your control. So right now you should do what you do best.” She squints trying to think about what he might mean. Stretching his arm down he grabs Poppy’s torn up ballet slippers. They were old and in desperate need of being replaced, but she had been so preoccupied this year that it completed slipped her mind. She smiles as he tapes her toes and fits her not so delicate feet into the silk. Once he laced up the second pink slipper he stood and offered her a hand up. Even though she wanted to dance with all her being she was a little embarrassed to do it in front of everyone else. She hadn’t danced in front of anyone since her days at the ballet school, so the whole idea was heavy on her shoulders. “Don’t worry. We’re family you should be able to do anything in front of us.” Seth says.

“Yea, don’t be embarrassed.” Edward says, “Besides we could use the entertainment.” Poppy scrunches her face up, but inside is gleaming with joy.

“I have always wanted to see you dance, Pops.” When Poppy looks at her Bella’s eyes widen, “Oh is it ok if I call you that? I just think it’s such a cute nickname.” Poppy laughs as she looks at everyone’s eye on her, except Rosalie who thought a seventeen magazine was more interesting. Poppy finally had the courage to get up and feel out the floor in her slippers.

“Ok fine I’ll dance for you guys if you want. If the floor shakes don’t be alarmed.” Poppy had been known to shake the floor with a light jump since vampires were hard as stone. Even if she wasn’t stone she could still do some damage to the house. She raised her arms gracefully causing the crowd to be taken in by her beauty. Then she dropped her arms and made a face, “What should even dance? Usually I just do warm ups in my room, but those are boring I don’t think you want to see those.”

“Well what’s that song that you always listen to?” Seth asks.

Edward snaps his fingers, “Oh you mean Swan Lake? Why don’t you dance that?” Poppy thinks about it.

“Well I guess I could just do the prologue since it’s not that long. Okay now I’m ready.” She looks at her feet and notices they still have some rosin left on them. ‘ _Good at least I won’t slip._ ’ she thought to herself before lifting her arms again. With a deep breath she takes the first step and transforms into the Swan Queen. Her audience is taken by her change of character from the regular tough Poppy to a fragile and insecure Queen. Seeing her be able to transform that easily was memorizing and frightening all at the same time. She was able to lose herself so quickly in a part that it almost seemed like she became the character. As she rounded off into a one foot spin she slowed and tip-toed until she came to her starting place. Like a flick of the switch she blinked and Poppy was back to her normal self, making her audience (even Rosalie) give a clap. She sat by Seth with a huge smile and began to undo her shoes.

“That was amazing Poppy!” Bella exclaimed while holding he stomach like the excitement might make the baby fly away. “I never knew you were that good.”

“Oh I’m sure there are plenty of other people that are better than me.” Poppy shrugs and focuses on her feet. Taking off the tape she smirks at how her feet don’t even hurt from that ‘performance’. When she was a human her feet used to be extremely bruised and scared from the excessive practice.

“No Pops, you’re the best I’ve ever seen.” Seth says trying to keep the smile on her face like he always did.

“My pirouette isn’t tight enough. I still need to practice more.” She says crushing up the white tape. She takes her ballet shoes and wraps them together setting them to the side.

“Pireou-what?” Seth asks.

Poppy laughs and flicks his nose playfully, “Peer-o-wet. It’s French for spin I guess. But it’s the turn I did on with one foot on my tippy toes.” He nods and ‘ahhs’ as does Bella. They get Poppy to talk about ballet more which ultimately takes her mind of her worries. Bella become fascinated with how much work Poppy had done in her human life when she was barely in her teens. “Well back then by the time you were 16 you needed to have your life planned.” Poppy says, “Especially with the World Wars going on.” She adds.

“No wonder you know so much.” Bella says.

“What do you mean?” Poppy asks curiosity getting the better of her.

“Well you were thrown into the world at such an early age you know. You either had to learn or go on with just wit to help you. I admire you a lot for not closing yourself off to knowledge.” Bella says bluntly. No one had ever told her that in all her years. It was refreshing to hear someone of this generation say that especially since Bella was someone Poppy admired as well.

“Thanks Bella that means a lot to me. Honestly I admire you too… for being so headstrong to carry this baby.” Suddenly she had a thought as Bella looked from Poppy to Edward. He gives her a questionable glance before looking at Poppy still clueless as to what Bella was thinking; the usual.

“Oh my gosh Poppy! Can I ask you something super crazy?” Poppy snuggles into Seth’s arms as they lay in the corner of the couch. After getting comfortable with Seth she doesn’t give much thought before answering.

“I guess.”

“Will you home school EJ?” Bella spurts out. Everyone does a double take at the question.

“Uhm, who’s EJ?” Poppy asks. Bella rubs her stomach softly staring at it lovingly.

“That’s the baby’s name. EJ… Edward Jacob.” Edward smirks down at his wife making the whole room warm up.

“What if it’s a girl?” Rose asks as she picks up her magazine again.

“Hmm…” she hums to herself as she thinks, “Rene… Esme… reesmmee. What about Reneesme?” She asks the room. Silence fills the room until she looks at each and every person, “Too weird?” she asks.

“I like it. It’s unique and it certainly fits the situation.” He smiles for the first time in a while, at least from what Poppy’s seen. The scene was nice as they all talked and fooled around in the living room. For another second things felt calm again… almost normal; soon enough it was time for Bella’s bath. Edward helps her up to hand her off to Rosalie and Poppy. Suddenly Alice dashes into the room scarring almost everyone.

“What have I missed?” she asks.

“How about where have you been?” Poppy say/asks.

“Jasper and I have been in the basement since the blood thing and my head aches. But now my head is feeling better thank gosh.” She smiles. Alice had been having troubles with her head since the baby came into the picture. No one knew exactly why, but she never made a big deal about it. As they make their way to the bathroom Rose begins to banter on about how large Bella is getting and how excited she is for the baby to be born when Bella accidently drops her cup. She automatically reaches to catch it when a muffled rip is heard. Bella gasps, goes limp, and then screams, only to be cut off when she faints.

Immediately everyone gets up from their places and goes to Rose, Bella and Poppy. The sisters have broken Bella’s fall, but something begins to make her stomach twitch and jolt. Jacob burst in through the door to find Rosalie carrying Bella upstairs with Edward and follows after them. Poppy runs to the phone to dial Carlisle when she sees Seth paralyze with fear. She goes up to him and caresses his face softly, “Seth?” His whole body is shaking and his eyes are on the brink of tears, “Seth it’s okay. Bella is going to be fine. I’m going to help her, but I need you to be strong.” He nods and sniffles cutely. Poppy can’t help, but smile at his innocence. The sound of Carlisle’s voice mail rings through her ears and she hangs up, “Seth I need you and Leah to go and track down Carlisle. Make sure they get back safe okay.” She holds his face in both hands to feel his warmth. She needed something of him to carry to the delivery. Since it looked like she thought it did, that meant she was going to have to deliver the baby by herself which terrified her to her core. She kissed Seth and pushed him towards the door; he looked at her once before running outside to his sister. 

Poppy tries calling Carlisle on her way up the stairs, but it still goes to voicemail. As she got to the examination room Edward was the first to go up to her, “What’s happening?” she huffed and got into doctor mode. Bella’s body was moving and snapping as she laid there unconscious. Poppy placed her hands on Bella’s belly to feel what was happening to make sure it was the right time. The convulsions from the center of her body were breaking and snapping her bones. Instantly Poppy barks orders at her siblings, “Rosalie morphine, the placenta must’ve detached. Alice, “she throws her the phone, “keep trying Carlisle.” Unexpectedly Bella wakes up and screams as Poppy injects her with the morphine.  Rosalie acts on her own and begins to cut Bella’s stomach only to be stopped by Poppy, “Let the morphine spread.”

“There’s no time he’s dying!” Rosalie says. Alice shakes her head when she gets Carlisle’s voice mail again.

“GET HIM OUT NOW!” Bella yells so loud the blood vessels in her eyes begin to hemorrhage. With a bite of her lip Poppy takes the knife from Rosalie and cuts Bella stomach open to expose her insides. She hands the knife to Rosalie who becomes transfixed on the smell of Bella’s sweet blood.

“NO ROSALIE DON’T!” Edward yells. Jacob leaps across the table tackling her and shoves her into the door frame.  

“Alice get her out of here!” Poppy yells. Poppy tries to focus on Bella’s stomach so that she can get through the hard placenta that surrounds the fetus. As she is able to get through a deafening crack echoes through the room. Poppy feels around Bella’s body and notices it’s her spine that has cracked and broken paralyzing her.  “Jacob get over here! You need to do CPR while me and Edward get the baby out. We need to keep her breathing.” She says.

“Just change her!” he exclaims.

“No I have to get him out first. Now do what I said or you’ll never see Bella again!” With a grimace on his face Jacob does what he’s told. Poppy explains to Edward that they have to bite into her in order to break through fast enough. They begin to rip into Bella’s stomach until the full fetus is in view, covered in blood. As Poppy fishes the baby out, Bella’s body seized convulsing. She was as still a board, but her heart was still thumping slowly.

“Reneesme.” Is all that is whispered as Edward takes the baby. Bella’s skeletal face flashes a small smile as she sees her daughter for the first time.

“Renee-… beautiful, so beautiful.” Her heart begins to fade, but Poppy works fast. Moving Edward out of the way she goes into the drawer with the syringe of venom put aside for an emergency. Knowing where she was aiming she uses an incredible force to get it through the chest plate and into Bella’s heart. Jacob keeps performing CPR, but Bella doesn’t move. The lightness of the humming bird is all that is heard throughout the room.


	27. A Fight Ending in A Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy gets Edward to turn Bella since she can’t do it herself. As Edward works on Bella Poppy goes to Reneesme to see if she’s okay. Once the baby is fine and in Rosalie’s arms Poppy hears growls from outside that she hasn’t heard in a while. The pack comes to take care of the problem, which is Reneesme, and since it’s been separated from Bella.

As Poppy is ready to call the death of Bella she hears a jump start in the heart. Only her ears are able to pick up the faint heartbeat, trying it’s hardest to keep going. “Edward give me the baby. You need to bite Bella!”   
“What?” he says obviously on the verge of losing it since he can’t hear Bella’s heartbeat. Poppy takes the baby from Edwards’s hands and cradles the newborn in her arms.  
“You need to bite her where all her main arteries are! Hurry she’s still alive!” He doesn’t move as fast as she wants him to, so she slaps him across the face. “The love of your life is about to die because you’re already mourning her! Snap out of it bite her everywhere and she may have a chance! I don’t have venom in me! You have to do it, Edward!” He blinks a couple times before going to Bella’s side and biting her neck first. There was nothing more Poppy could do, but wait and see if her heart was strong enough to hold on.   
Poppy took Reneesme to the kitchen sink to start washing her up. It was weirder than Poppy thought it would be since she was already the size of a month old baby. The umbilical cord literally detached when she was scooped up from Bella’s torso, which was odd, but she was beautiful. The resemblance of Bella and Edward were extremely prominent even though she had just been born. “Is that her?” Rosalie says from behind her. Poppy moves to guard the sink, the smell of Bella’s blood lingered on Reneesme and mixed itself with her own sweet smelling blood; she didn’t want Rosalie to lose control on the baby.  
“Yes it is.” Rose holds up her hands, but Poppy keeps her guard up.  
“I’m okay now I swear.” She couldn’t be sure that Rose was fine, but there were signs that she wouldn’t lose control. Her eyes were a deep brown instead of the dark midnight black and she wasn’t sniffing the air around her or grabbing her neck. With hesitation Poppy nods for her to move closer. She looks down at herself to see a murder scene plastered on her shirt. Lacking the drive to go and change Poppy kept watch on Rose, just in case. Eventually Rosalie completely takes over with the washing and dressing, which doesn’t bother Poppy. She watches Rose play with Reneesme until she gets an ugly feeling in the pit of her stomach. She focuses on her hearing to make sure there wasn’t anything outside, but then there’s a growl.   
“Rose, go to my room and lock yourself in there.” She says.  
“What is it?” Rose asks holding the baby closer to her as she gets up from her chair.  
“I heard something outside… just do what I said please.” She nods and disappears up the stairs. Before Poppy goes outside she makes her way to the basement to see Jasper reading a newspaper with Alice by his side. “I think Sam might be close.” Jasper gets up instantly and the girls follow him through the house. Getting closer to the door Poppy could smell the scent of the pack and immediately put up her guard. Edward meets them in the living room with his shirt covered in blood as well as the corners of his mouth. “Is Bella okay?” Poppy asked.   
“Maybe. They’re coming from the side.” Edward leads the group through a side door leading to the forest that almost touches the house. The pack circles in as Jasper, Alice, Edwards, and Poppy form a line of defense.   
“We’re out numbered.” Jasper says. Poppy counts seven wolfs to four vampires, which doesn’t read well on paper. She could use her power, but since she was weak from not feeding, it would only work on maybe two wolves. If she tried any more than two she’d probably collapse right there which would be an even bigger mess. She hears her siblings say other things, but she muffled out them out. Poppy needed to be in right mindset in order to be able to fight. The new moon was out which meant her wolf form wasn’t as powerful as it always was. She would have to depend on her strength alone; with a huff she prayed that, that was enough. Sam howls a mighty howl and every wolf lunges at the Cullens with ferocious eyes. The second biggest wolf with a greyish silver fur, Paul, locks Poppy in his sight and leaps into the air with his gapping mouth open. She runs forward making him miss her by a couple of inches; flipping she lands on his back and grips onto his neck to pin him down. He goes crazy, like a wild bull, trying to get her off his back which he can’t do by himself. Poppy refused to apply enough pressure to kill him; instead she just wanted to pin him down so that she could get by his ear or eyes. With her strategizing, she was caught up with Paul and she didn’t see the one behind her. He hopped into the air grapping onto her body throwing her off Paul in an instant. As she flew in the air Poppy grabbed a branch and swung on it to plant her feet on the tree to keep steady. A wolf she’d never seen before began to jump up and chomp trying to bite her. She climbs up higher disappearing to the leaves and waits for the dumb wolf to turn around. Once he looks to the other side she falls out of the tree with her feet and arms outstretched and grabs him, using all her weight she flips him and throws him further away from the house. Suddenly she hears a whimper and looks to the house to see Carlisle and Esme knocking over another wolf.   
“Thank God.” She says to herself and joins them near the house. Two wolves circle around them until Poppy throws herself o one and tries to knock him down. When she gets one arm around his neck he sweeps her legs from under her with his snout and pins her down. Reacting quickly she keeps her hands up and uses all of her strength to keep him from tearing her apart. A loud snarl is heard echoing through the forest distracting him giving Poppy the opportunity to use both of her legs to kick him away. As if on cue Seth, in wolf form, comes in and tackles the wolf in front of Poppy. They roll and bite until Seth finally throws him aside. The Cullen’s and the brother/sister pair close in on the side of the house as the pack comes in closer. They snarl and growl trying to intimidate them when Jacob leaps between both groups.  
“Stop!” he shouts to Sam. Not giving up Sam tries to move past him which makes get Jacob irritated. He pushes Sam back, “It’s over you can’t hurt her!” Sam snaps his teeth and shoves Jacob making him flies back, but he shifts midair coming down with a new presence about him. Poppy is amazed at how much he’s changed since a minute ago. She could feel the warmth, the pull he had on the Cullen’s now; it was the same with Seth.   
“Jacob… imprinted.” Poppy and Edward said. Everyone stares at Jacob’s alpha stance and his deep growling makes Sam’s feet shake. Before bowing down Sam turns and leave with his pack leaving only a single howl behind before he disappears. As the family takes a breath Poppy laughs as Jacob turns to Edward with the awkwardness spread on his wolf face.   
“Damn.” Poppy says, “The situation just gets better, doesn’t it.”   
****  
The family gathered at the table, besides Carlisle who was checking on Bella, and stared at Edward who was glaring at Jacob. With the new information about Jacob imprinting on Reneesme out in the open it made Edward feel… for a lack of a better word odd. There were hateful feeling present in the new father, but there were also a lot of other emotions coming into play. Relief, interest, remorse, acceptance, these all floated round in Edwards head like balloons at a children’s birthday party. He hadn’t felt this overwhelmed since the first day he met Bella. Poppy smiling at the scene in front of her wasn’t helping the situation either.  
“I don’t think you should be smiling at them like that.” Seth says from underneath her. She was sitting in his lap since the kitchen table chairs made her uncomfortable.   
“Why I’m not doing anything wrong. I just think it’s sort of funny, don’t you?” She looks at him with a cute face. He smile, but shakes his head, “Well how often can you say you’ve imprinted on the daughter of the girl you were just fighting for. It also explains so much about everything.” She runs her hands through her hair making Seth stare in awe.  
“Explains what exactly?” Jasper asks who sits next to Edward just in case he decided to lunge at Jacob.   
“Like everything.” Poppy starts, “Like how Alice couldn’t see Bella’s future or hear the baby. She’s tied to Jacob and can’t see anything with the wolves in it. Or like the fact that Bella was extremely clinging to Jake when she was pregnant or for their entire relationship really.”   
Jasper stares at Edward like an Ivy League scholar, “Fascinating.” Jacob gives him a side eye then sighs loudly.  
“Look it’s not like I had a choice in this. Imprinting just happens… I mean look at those two.” He points at Seth and Poppy. The couple looks at each other then at everyone else and shrugs earning a giggle from Alice. “It’s not what you think it means okay. I know she’s a baby and I don’t have those types of feelings to a baby; that would be sick.” Edward nods, but keeps his cold glare. “It just means that I’ll choose her over anybody else. I’ll protect her with my life and be whatever she wants me to be whether a friend, a brother, or a protector. Right now my love is like all of yours if not an abundance more.” He crosses his arms and gives eye contact to everyone before starring at Edward head on, “I’ve pleaded my case. I’m open to question or comments now.”   
Poppy claps slowly before leaning on the table, “Did you practice that?” she asked Jacob. “Oh come on Edward it’s not he’s going to hurt her.”   
“Yes, but it’s just odd for me to wrap my head around it.” He sighs and gets up from his seat, “You’re off the hook since you can’t help it, but I’m still gonna keep thinking about this.” He says turning away from Jacob. The family is stunned at Edwards statement especially since he was pretty much radiating killer vibes. No one object though since Jacob had given a brief summary on how his feelings would work. Edward starts to walk away from the table and Poppy suddenly remembers some important information.  
“Edward.” She calls. He looks to her and she tries not to spill the bean by thinking about what she’s going to say, “Would it help if I told you baby ducks imprint on their mothers.” The table erupts in laughter as Edward walks away not knowing how to respond.   
The house is calm in the next days as they wait to hear a certain heart beat stop. Edward had been moping around the house for three days since he kept thinking he was too late. He thanked and thanked Poppy for getting him to act faster in the room, but still thought that it didn’t work. The sound of a fragile heart beat sounded through the house louder than Poppy’s and Reneesme’s combined. Bella was going to make… indeed she was strong enough. 


	28. Pointe Shoes

The sound of something hitting hard against the wood floor sounded through the house as Poppy worked on her new point shoes. The family stared in awe as she worked in the living room floor in between Seth's legs. After Reneesme was born they continued to wait for Bella to wake up from her unusually quiet transformation. It had been two days yet no movement from her new sister's body. "Do you need to be so loud?" Rosalie asks coming from the other room holding Nessie, a nickname Jacob came up with after getting a little tired of saying the baby's full name.

"Actually I do." Poppy retorts without looking up at her sister. "I need to break the tip before I start to do anything else to them." She empties a small black bag of what looks like sewing supplies onto the floor before finally looking up. "Besides it was only like two taps so you're fine."

"I just don't want to wake Reneesme." At the sound of her name the beautiful baby's eyes slowly slide open. She yawns and wiggles in her aunt's arms fussing until Rosalie makes her way to the kitchen for her bottle.

"Looks like I'm not the one that woke her up." Poppy says while getting back to her shoe prep.

"What are you even doing?" Seth asks over her shoulder. She leaned back to rest on his broad chest as she brought the shoe up for both of them to see clearly.

"Well after I make them soft I darn along the tips just to keep me from slipping. Also since I can't control how fast I go sometimes it helps the shoes live awhile longer. After I'm done with that I'll glue the yarn, then break the inside, sew the ribbon and elastic, then they'll be ready to dance in." He rubs her shoulders and cuddles his head up next to hers.

"That's a lot of work for a shoe that'll be done in a couple of years." She snorts and goes back to her sewing.

"I wish the lasted that long. These I'll probably last a couple weeks if I'm lucky, but you know it's another way to use my time. When I was in school this wasn't as important as it was now, but I loved doing it. No one will be able to wear this shoe except me." As she darned the edges Seth kept his eyes on her closely. She was taking her time instead of using her immortal speed. It was rare to see a vampire of any kind to have as much control over their speed, or even want to be able to take things slow. She sewed and sewed until a smile spread across her face. "See now that is beautiful." Taking the glue she lathered on a good amount on the work she just did.

"Why don't they make them accustomed to your feet? Wouldn't that be easier?" Emmett asked from his seat on the couch.

"Of course it would, but that's just not how they do things. In my opinion it's better for a ballerina to sew their own shoes anyway. The person dancing in the shoes is the only person that knows how they feel. Every person's foot is different and may need a different technique to help support themselves. That way we are less likely to get hurt on point." She takes one shoe and begins to rip it apart on the inside while bending it. A crunching, muffled crack sound came from the point shoe as it screamed in relief. She then takes a Stanley Knife and cuts the cardboard inside the shoe. Watching her work is like watching an artist paint. She mesmerizes everyone with her movement and precision on her task. This preparation was like second nature to Poppy causing her fingers to move on their own. Since she was taking her time she was still able to finish in a record time of thirty minutes. Finishing the last stitch on her ribbon she listens to the beating of Bella's heart. She could hear the changes in the rhythm and beats. With these days passing, the sound began to soften and get weaker than it was before.

"Is it normal for it to take this long?" Seth asked. Everyone turns to him and throws a questionable glance.

"Is what supposed to take long?" Emmett says being the one to break the silence.

"The change from human to vampire? I thought it would've been like instantaneous since the venom hits you right away." Poppy giggles softly as she tweaks her finished pointe shoes. "Is that wrong?" Seth asked after hearing his love laugh.

"Well yea obviously. The change is different for everyone." Poppy begins, "The venom attacks your blood vessels and goes through a person like a disease. It's literally killing you, which means the time it takes for you to change is all dependent on how strong your body is." Seth nods his head in understanding. He had a lot more questions, but was afraid to even say anything else about it. He didn't know if it was a sore topic for the bunch and rather not upset this lot.

"Can I ask another question?" Seth whispered. He couldn't help himself and decided to give himself one more free question.

"Sure." Poppy says after a couple of minutes of silence.

"What does it feel like? The change, I mean." Poppy stops fiddling with her pointe shoes and sighs. She stretches her arms up and leans back again on Seth's chest. He wraps his arms around her waist while nestling his head against hers.

"It kind of feels like your whole body's on fire. Like if someone was dunking your body in boiling oil; it's honestly the worst pain I've ever felt." She snaps her fingers suddenly, "Besides the wolf transformation. Oh boy that was rough." Poppy caresses Seth's arms and traces intricate circles on his arm.

"What did your wolf change feel like?" Seth asked curiosity getting the better of him. Emmett and Jasper leaned closer eager to her the details. They had always been incredibly curious about Poppy's transformation into a wolf.

"Hmmm," Poppy hums trying to find the right words to describe the particular feeling of being turned. "It was kind of like my whole body was being torn apart and the put back together. It's always cold too, so the wolf change is like the exact opposite from the vampire change."

"Is that what it feels like every time you change?" Seth asks.

"Kind of, but it's not as intense. Over time it has gotten easier to change… maybe it's because I'm used to it. The only thing that's different is the pain; the first time it felt like I was peeling my own skin off with dry ice. Now it's just like a burning cold, tingling feeling inside and the breaking of my bones on the outside." Seth shivers as she goes into detail about her transformation. It was odd for him to hear about how much pain she had to go through in order to become a wolf. For him who was able to transform at will, it was crazy to realize how her change worked. As the conversation dims and the boys go back to the T.V, Poppy switches her attention back to her shoes. She wraps the ribbon up her ankle and takes the lighter to burn the cut edge. She bend her feet to see how they move and check for any unsupported spots in the arch. Looking at her pretty pointe shoes she listens to Bella's heart. Like a lovely melody she hums along to it when… it stops. Silence is all she hears from the examination room which could only mean one thing.

"Bella…" Edward voice whispers as he dashes across the living room, vanishing into the hallway. Everyone is quiet and calm as they listen to the sounds of Edward calling Bella. Poppy immediately gets up to make her way to the medical room. Carlisle is right behind her as they open the door to witness Bella's eyes shoot open.

"Thank goodness." Poppy says with a sigh. She goes to Bella side when her sister swings and flips onto her feet. Bella stares at them in astonishment as she has her arm spread on the wall like an animal ready to strike. Carlisle, Poppy, and Edward hold their arms up defensively, "Wow! Okay Bella calm down. You're fine." Poppy says. With Bella's new instincts on it was normal for her to overreact or get drunk off the HD like quality of life. Poppy backs away slowly until she feels Carlisle right next to her, "You don't think she would… you know?" she asks Carlisle.

"I'm not sure." Is his answer; There had been instances with vampires where they go crazy with bloodlust when the first awake. It was difficult for them to make out if Bella was capable of doing just that. She sniffs the air until her eyes fall on Edward and like a moth drawn to a flame, she instantly engulfs him in her arms. Carlisle and Poppy sigh in relief to see that she glimpses of the old Bella in the beautiful figure before them.

"Oww." Edward whispers as Bella holds on a little too tight. She loosens her grip and mouths an 'oops' to her husband. "It's okay. Now just have to remember not to break me." He smiles at her and places a light kiss on her red lips.

"I love you." Are the first words Bella says to Edward as they part from their long kiss. She looks around the room once again and exhales in realization, "Reneesme." She says.

"It would be wise for you to feed first before seeing her." Carlisle says. Bella frowns at the suggestion and Poppy blocks the door for extra measures. Eventually they're able to get her to go hunting with Edward letting Poppy go back to the living room. Once Bella and Edward left she dances her way to the living room to break in her new pointe shoes. Carlisle followed after her slowly watching as she pliéd and pirouetted through the hallway. "You finally sewed a new pair?" he asked; without stopping Poppy croiséd to Carlisle and nodded.

"Yup these are brand new." She did a turn-out and continued to spin.

"How many hard pairs do you have left?" he asked as they entered the living room.

"This was the last pair, but I'll manage with these for a while so don't worry." Until recently Poppy's pointe shoes came from one particular maker in Italy that had made her shoes for years, but he passed away. He had originally given her a big enough batch to get through the year until he could make more for her. Now that he was gone, Poppy didn't know where to begin when looking for a new maker. Carlisle knew that she wouldn't want him to worry over something as trivial as pointe shoes, but he couldn't help it. He wanted her to be happy and knew that she often used her dancing to keep her mind straight. As he rounded the kitchen Esme handed him his planner, "We need to look for another shoe maker." He told her.

"What?" she asked. They sat outside looking at the nice green scenery they were blessed with.

"Poppy's pointe shoe bunch has finally run out." Carlisle looked over his schedule as Esme thought to herself.

"Well I'll look for one right away since she'll need new ones soon." They both watched Poppy from their seats as she danced. Seth clapped and smiled at her from his seat on the couch. "I'm so glad he's here with her now. Aren't you?" Carlisle nods to answer his wife question. "Poppy was always the one you were the most worried about." She says as she rubs his shoulder.

"I'm always worried about her." He says before going back to his planner. As noon came around Seth went for a run with his sister leaving Poppy alone. Everyone was preoccupied with other task so she escaped to her room. She felt she had broken in her shoes enough and slipped out of them. Wanting to preserve them she placed her shoes aside neatly and stretched instead. As she lifted a leg above her head she though again about her circus training, "I wonder…" she said to herself. Placing her leg down gently, she shook her hands and patted her legs down. The smell of smoke and popcorn came back to her instantly as she closed her eyes and thought of her past days. Slowly she inched herself into a split holding her breath until she hit the floor. With a loud exhale she bent her torso back and grabbed her back leg. She giggled as the world turned upside down in this position, "okay." She grunted to get herself ready again. Planting her hands on the ground she lifts her body up without breaking the structure she's made. Slowly she lifts her right arm up and extends it out to strike a different pose. She switches position and contorts in ways she hadn't been in, in years. It was as much fun as she remembered it was in the old days.

Once she finished her fun she sat calmly on the floor of her room. She basked in the happiness and relaxation she was feeling. Suddenly she feels a tug on her heart as a dreadful feeling rest in air. She runs outside to see an angry Bella yelling at Jacob. She watches as Bella nudges and pushes him as she gets protective over Reneesme. Poppy notices Seth on the side and keeps an eye on him. 'Something might happen to him.' Was all she could think of. The statement danced around in her head as she felt the dreadful feeling weigh heavy on her heart.

"YOU NICKNAMED MY DAUGHTER AFTER THE LOCH NESS MONSTER?!" Bella screamed and lunged at Jacob's throat when Seth threw himself in front of her. Without a care in the world Bella grabs Seth and throws him to the side making him hit a tree. As Poppy hears Seth's whimper she runs towards his limp body.

"Seth?!" she screams, but doesn't realize she's coated her voice in her powers. The sound of his name flows through the wind and into Bella's ears making her pass out. The family spread between the two scenes looking at Poppy then to Bella. No one sensed the power coming off of Poppy and were worried something unexpected happened to Bella. As Seth came to and stood up on all fours Poppy sighed in relief causing Bella's eyes to shoot open at the exact same time.

"Is that even possible?" Edward asked Jasper who was looking totally confused at Poppy and Bella.

"What is it?" Carlisle asked. Jasper had been taken over by confusion as Edward tried to continue to read his mind. It was like flipping through unorganized paper work which gave him a terrible headache.

"This is gonna take some explaining."


	29. Powers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get steamy!!!

“Her power affected Bella?” Carlisle asked. Jasper had been racking his brain on what had happened out there. He knew that Bella fainting and waking up had something to do with Poppy; otherwise it would be an impeccable coincidence. “How is that possible? The only ones who are able to use their powers on her are Alice, Jasper, and now Reneesme. Defensive powers don’t work on Bella… or shouldn’t.” Poppy had her knees to her chest as she sat in the middle of the couch. The family reassured her that everything was fine in order to keep her from retreating inside herself again. They only wanted to know what other developments were taking place in Poppy.   
Jasper sighed, “I thought that too, but apparently not.”   
“Well what did you see exactly?” Edward asked.   
“Well when Bella threw Seth, Poppy screamed and at that exact moment Bella fainted. Once Poppy saw that Seth was okay she made a sound as she sighed and again at that exact moment Bella woke up. It can’t be a fluke can it, I mean for it to happen in such sync?” There was no denying that what happened outside was weird, but they knew that it had everything to do with Poppy. Now they were aware that not only was her body changing, but also her powers as well. Seth could do nothing, but offer warmth to Poppy. He sat next to her silently listening to the conversations the Cullens were having. Carlisle had asked if he could go home, but Seth refused, as politely as he could. Since Poppy was apart of his life he needed to make it appoint to be a part of hers which meant being present for these conversations.   
“No it can’t be a mere coincidence.” Carlisle starts, “Poppy do you remember what you were thinking when you saw Bella hurt Seth.” Poppy looks up with red tinted eyes, hinting that she was on the verge of tears, and shook her head lightly.  
“No, honestly I don’t think I was thinking about anything. I just wanted to make sure Seth was okay. I didn’t mean to do anything to Bella. Even if I wanted to use my powers I wouldn’t have used it like that.” She lets go of her legs and sits normally while gripping the sides of the couch. Poppy was trying so hard to replay the situation to see if there was anything that might help, but was coming up empty.  
“What are your powers specifically?” Seth asked. He had heard of Poppy having powers, but she never spoke of them in detail since she hardly used them. Her time with the Volturi had made her an excellent fighter so there was never a need to use them defensively.   
“She has a rare power that is almost unheard of. It’s kind of like hypnosis, but she uses her voice and eyes.” Jasper says.   
“Yea, but now that I’m a hybrid it’s always changing. Also very unstable since I can barely control it some days… like today.” Poppy says with a sigh.   
“Is this the first time it’s changed this drastically?” Seth asks directly to Carlisle. He shakes his head, but Poppy answers the question instead.  
“Not really. Before my change I was able to use both at the same time or alone. I had complete control, but now it usually takes some concertation. I didn’t use my powers until a couple months after my change so I could only use my eyes; then gradually I was able to channel it more in my voice.” She stares ahead as she explains the rollercoaster that is her powers. Seth listens intently, making sure that he knows everything about her powers. “They vary a lot with how I feel as well, which makes everything a little more clearly yet all the more complicated. That’s the basic run down.” She finishes with a halfhearted chuckle. Even with knowing everything Seth was still at a lost, like the rest of the family, at why Poppy was able to use her power on Bella.   
“So… I think it might be safe to assume that her powers are changing with her body.” Emmett states.   
Carlisle nods, “That is the big picture, but the question is how. We know why her body is changing, but why is she now able to past through the toughest shield out there.” He rubs his temple as the million dollar question bounces around his head.  
“Well,” Jasper starts, “we’re just gonna have to add that to the pile of unanswered Poppy questions.” Everyone laughs except Poppy who is looking around curiously.   
“Wait do you guys know why my body is going crazy?” she asks the room. Carlisle’s eyes go wide in realization as he remembers that they had forgotten to tell Poppy their findings during her absence. In the midst of the chaos that was the Cullen home they all had forgotten to let Poppy in the loop. “Well…” she says trying to get her family to say something, “What did you guys find out?”   
“Uhm… the basic punch line is,” Emmett starts, “the reason we think your body is changing is because you’ve found your soulmate.” Seth and Poppy look at each other a tilt their heads.   
“I don’t get it.” Seth says looking up at Emmett. He sucks on his teeth and rolls his eyes at how clueless the young couple is. So they explained everything from her latching onto Seth to the way things might be in the future. They went into depth about how things are going mentally for Poppy as well as physically. As they explained everything Seth was able to see the clear picture that he was the reason she was changing so much. Carlisle reassured him that they were all changes that were for the better and would do Poppy some good. As the night grew darker Seth began to yawn and nod off trying to fight sleep.   
“Let’s go sleepy head.” Poppy says pulling him up from the couch. Seth pouted, but followed her nonetheless since he was too tired to fight back. He always tried to fight his sleep since Poppy usually spent the night up with her family. It wasn’t a big deal to her as Seth thought though, they have pretty much all eternity to sit up and not sleep. Now she was only worried about Seth and his energy since he was a fulltime wolf now. Seth and Leah had stayed with Jacob after the whole Reneesme thing went down. Even after Jacob’s fit about them being together he eventually gave in; as well as welcomed Quil and Embry into his pack. Now it was just simple patrols during the day and some watches at night for Nessi’s protection. Seth still needed to get used to being in wolf form most of the day. Poppy tucked him, and herself, into her daybed. With the next full moon close the couple almost matched body temperatures which almost felt relaxing to Poppy. She spent the night tracing out Seth’s beautiful feature.  
****  
With the birds chirping and the wind blowing heavy against the windows in the hallway, Seth awoke from his deep slumber. As he opened his eyes he was greeted with the amazing sight of his love, Poppy. She was standing in front of the bed already dressed braiding her hair slowly. He didn’t move an inch and just watched her as he always did. He could make out every golden sparkle on her exposed olive arms and legs. Her black tank top fit snug on her torso accentuating her hour glass figure and plump chest. Her gray shorts hung low on her waist and only came down to the midpoint of her thigh exposing the rest of her tones legs. Once she finished with her braid she walked gracefully to her closet to fetch one of Seth’s sweaters, which she had taken the liberty of washing herself. It was two sizes too big and fell over one of her shoulders cutely making Seth go crazy. He had never seen a more perfect person in all his life and the best part… she was his. He kept his eyes on her as she came out of the closet and smiled at his now wide awake face. To Seth she moved in slow motion like a movie star coming on the scene. Without thinking Seth quickly gets up from the daybed and makes his way towards her.  
“You’re awa-” she begins, but is interrupted by Seth’s lips. He kisses her with so much passion that she’s stunned and continues to keep her eyes open in surprise. He parts from her to look down at her still surprised expression and holds her face in his hands. Slowly he places another kiss on her sweet lips trying to communicate all the love and desire he feels for her. Taken whole by the kiss Poppy returns it full throttle and wraps her arms around his neck as he wraps his arms around her waist. He pulls her closer and moves her back until she’s up against the wall. Poppy didn’t know what was coming over her, but the heat between them was so intense that she wanted more of it. Suddenly Seth’s arms snake down to her hip and she jumps up to wrap her legs around his waist. With a loud bang he pushes her back against the wall and they continue to kiss passionately. They lose themselves in each other wanting more and more of something they’re clueless to. As Seth begins to glide his hand up the big sweater wrapped around Poppy the door flies open.  
“Hey are you guys okay?! What was tha-” The couple stops and look towards Jasper who is equally stunned. He mutters a sorry and dashes out while closing the door behind him. With a squeal Poppy retreats to the closet; Seth is left alone in shock in the middle of Poppy’s bedroom. 


	30. Commercial Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something happens

“Will you come out already?!” Alice screams through the sound proof walls. She knew that Poppy could hear her and continued to knock and bang on the door. Poppy had locked herself in her room ever since Jasper walked in on the couple’s heated make out session that morning. She was just so embarrassed that facing her family in this situation would kill her. “Come on Poppy if you won’t come out at least let me in. I know you want to talk to someone right? Please,” Alice pleaded. Since Seth had gone with Jacob to settle some pack business Poppy was dying to talk to someone. After thinking for a couple of minutes she reluctantly opened her door slightly. Peeking outside she saw only Alice standing with her hands entwined together and a huge smile plastered on her face.   
“You have to pinky swear you won’t make fun of me.” Poppy said extending her arm and sticking her pinky finger out towards Alice. Without her smile faltering Alice hooked pinky’s and nodded. Poppy flipped their hands gently to press their thumbs together with their pinky’s still intact (sealing in the magic) and let her sister in. After locking her door she sat on her daybed with her knees against her chest; Alice sat next to her without saying a word. She honestly didn’t know where to start this conversation. Poppy sighed breaking the silence, “Jasper told everyone what happened right?” Alice cleared her throat delicately and shifted her eyes.  
“Well not exactly. Edward sort of heard his thoughts and announced it, but no one is mad if that’s what you’re worried about.” Alice says as she places her hand on Poppy’s shoulder.   
“I know they won’t be mad, but I’m just embarrassed I guess.” Alice moves back on the bed to get more comfortable.   
“Don’t be embarrassed. I mean we all had to go through the Emmett/Rosalie mess so nothing could scare us after that.” They both giggle, but Alice senses something else in Poppy’s voice. “Are you sure that’s all that’s bothering you.” She asked. Poppy looked up at her with her thoughts written across her face. The fear and sadness flooded her eyes as she thought of the reason she had a storm in her head. Now that her past was beginning to come back to her, she was remembering a lot of the good, but not a lot of that bad. It was like the traumas were coming back in scattered fragments that made no sense. With all her memories she couldn’t shake a dreadful feeling she had that was surrounding the passion in her relationship.   
“I don’t know… I just feel like something bad is going happen.” Poppy starts, “Now that I’m opening up more I can feel something trying to eat away at my feelings for Seth. It has to do something with my past, but I haven’t gotten a clear picture on that yet.”   
“You still don’t remember everything?” Alice asks looking concerned. Poppy simply shakes her head and squeezes her face between her knees like the goober she is. Eventually Poppy was able to keep up small talk instead of getting herself even more confused. Talking to her sister helped her get over the incredible embarrassment she suffered from. She still felt a little bit awkward, but she knew that they’d all be too scared to bring it up again… especially since she was the youngest. No one should talk about their younger sister’s sex life or lack thereof. Suddenly there was knock at the door bringing the sisters conversation to a stop.   
“Poppy, Carlisle needs your help down stairs.” Jasper’s voice sounded through the door. As she made her way downstairs Poppy saw Carlisle examining Nessi.   
“What’s going on?” she asked.  
“Ah just in time.” Carlisle said looking back at her. “I need you to help me take her vitals. She’s growing so fast. We need to monitor her growth more closely.” He said to Poppy as she went into doctor mode. Everyone was extremely worried about how fast Reneesme was aging physically and mentally. Every day she grew more like Bella in beauty and more like Edward in ability. Poppy had to often push Nessi’s little hand away so that she wouldn’t be blinded by her pictures. Reneesme had grown fond of Poppy and her power since she would sometimes show her something that would get her to stop crying. Rosalie thought it was cruel, but Bella didn’t mind one bit. Once the doctors were done Poppy walked to the kitchen to get some water when Emmett and Jasper walked up to her.   
“Can I help you?” she asked sarcastically after a couple of minutes of them not saying anything.   
“Look… we are weirded out by this whole thing, but we get it.” Emmett says. Poppy throws a questionable glance at him.   
“What you just said made no sense.” Jasper sighed and took over the conversation.  
“What he was trying to say was; don’t worry about being with Seth. Also I’d just like to throw out that if he hurts you in any way he’s going down. Uhm that’s it.” he finishes. Poppy smiles and lets out a little laugh that infects her brothers as well. Emmett goes around the island and wraps his arm around her shoulders.   
“We got your back.” He ruffles her hair which earns him a shove when he points at her. “How come he gets to give you a nick name? All the wolves get to give out nicknames why can’t we?” he says referring to ‘Nessi’ and ‘Pops’.   
“Maybe because you weren’t creative enough to think of it first.” Poppy says sticking out her tongue. They laugh and joke with each other when an annoying commercial booms through the TV. The Technicolor messed with Poppy’s eyes somewhat before she heard the name, Poppy Doll. Shaking her head she tried to make it go away, but it didn’t help. Like a broken record the name kept repeating itself in that raspy smoker voice,  
Poppy Doll  
Poppy Doll  
My Poppy Doll  
Trying to escape from the voice she drops to her knees and covers her ears. Her red tears begin to fall as fear consumes her whole. She being to hyperventilate and sob heavily not knowing how to make the voice stop or leave. “Please…” she kept saying over and over. Other voices tried to break through to her, but they sounded so far away. All she could hear was that man’s voice, feel that man’s touch, smell his aftershave. Like a deadly tidal wave fragments of those traumatic memories flooded in. One right after the other, following the voice, they flashed through Poppy’s head showing no mercy. Grinding her teeth she began to hum to herself; she just wanted the pain to stop anyway how… it needed to stop. Sweet relief washed over her as the blackness drowned out the voices… the memories.   
****  
Seth ran back to the Cullen’s house with his mind clouded with anticipation. He was still shocked at how carried away they got in the morning. He didn’t know what took over him, but in that instant she was just so beautiful. After Poppy ran into the closet he smoothed talked her into to coming out to say bye. He wasn’t embarrassed to talk to her since he knew that one day they’d be able to go that far; he was just scared that Emmett and Jasper would do something reckless. They were crazy protective over Poppy since she was the youngest and the ‘different’ one. Seth knew that if he had walked in on his sister being manhandled while kissing the guy he’s probably have a stern talking to the dude.  
As he phased back into human form he met up with Jacob a few feet in front of the house. They were the only ones who had stayed near the Cullen’s after the big fight. Obviously Leah was the first to leave since she hated the Cullen, but Quil and Embry opted out on setting foot near here. They understood, however, that their imprintees were the reason they had to stay here which wasn’t a problem. After Bella got over the whole imprint thing she was glad to have a friend close by now that she couldn’t see anyone from her past. As they came closer to the house Seth slowed his pace down until he was at a complete stop. “You scared of what Emmett might do?” Jacob asked jokingly.   
“N-no.” Seth said straightening his back and popping his chest out more. “I’m just not ready to go inside yet.” Jacob sighed and put his arm around Seth’s shoulder.  
“You know I can hear you.” He pointed to his head, “It would be nice if you could tell me what is wrong instead of me hearing your thoughts. It makes me feel like I’m eavesdropping.” Seth laughs and looks up at the waxing gibbous moon. The full moon was close which made Seth anxious and uneasy considering this would be the first one he would be around to witness.   
“I’m just scared that I’ll lose control around her.” Seth admitted his thought pertaining to the situation at hand. “This morning was me losing control with my lust, but what if I can’t control my anger either?” He turns to Jacob with a worried expression, “ I don’t want to hurt her, Jake.”   
“If I’m speaking honestly,” Jacob begins, “I don’t even think you can hurt her.” He smirks as does Seth when they hear a scream.   
“Pops.” Seth whispers before taking off into the house and up the stairs to the kitchen. As he storms in he sees the family crowding around Poppy limp body on the floor. He feels her heart and sighs in relief to realize she’s just knocked out. Dropping to his knees he takes her in his arms and cleans her face of the red tears. She snuggles close to him as she feels his warmth and rapid heartbeat. “What happened?” he asked the room. Getting up he sits in Poppy’s designated chair while cradling her in his arms.   
“We don’t know.” Emmett starts. “She was fine until that dumb commercial came on.” He points to the black TV. “When she collapsed Alice touched her…” he stops and looks at her, “Did you see something?”  
“Yes.” She says obviously shaken up by her vision. “I saw the past, a memory actually.” Alice took a deep breath and fiddled her fingers until Jasper held onto her hands. The mood began to calm down as Jasper worked his magic on everyone. “I saw probably the darkest memory of Poppy’s. I felt everything too it was so odd. I’ve never been able to feel anyone’s emotions from a vision before.”  
“Well what was the memory?” Carlisle asked.   
“I saw her being molested by a man. I’m not sure who it was, but he just looked evil. It was cold everywhere and I felt how scared she was.” Her voice trembled as she recalled the memory. “She was so young and all I kept hearing was that man’s voice.”   
“What was he saying?” Jasper asked holding Alice’s hands tightly.  
“Poppy Doll.” She states slowly.  
“My little Poppy Doll.” Edward suddenly said, “When I went into her thoughts the last time… that’s all I heard as well. Some man with a horrid voice kept calling after a little girl like that.” The room was silent as they took in the new information. “I also felt her feeling… it was like they were my own. That’s why I wasn’t able to stay that long inside her head.” He turns to his little sister, “She has some dark places in that complicated head of hers.”   
“Well let’s let her sleep for now and when she comes too hopefully she’ll be able to tell us more.” Carlisle says as he rubs the bridge of his nose. Seth carried Poppy to the room and tucked her in softly to not wake her. He kneeled by the side of the bed and kept his eyes on her. As he studied her face he thought about everything. There hasn’t been a day where they didn’t find out something different. To find out something this bad happened to her brought a tear to his eye. Soft sobs began to leave him as he thought about all her suffering. She stirred slightly making a strand of hair fall in her face, covering her left eye. With a deep breath Seth calmed himself down and moved the hair away. Then he noticed her brows were furrowed making her look worried even as she rested. Taking his index finger he gently smoothed out her brows to give her a more relaxed look.   
“You don’t have to worry when I’m here.” He whispered as small tears fell from his eyes, “I’ll protect you from now on. No one is going to hurt you ever again. I’m here… I’ll always be here for you, Pops. I love you.” It wasn’t until the moon kissed the earth did he fall asleep kneeling next to the love of his life. Next to the girl that meant everything to him; he fell asleep thinking of their future to counteract the dark thought of her past. He fell asleep loving her more.


	31. Family Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family hears about Poppy's past from her own lips. After a things quiet down Bella confronts Poppy about something leading to the talk about leaving Forks.

The house was quiet and still as the Cullens, with Jacob and Seth, sat in the living room. It was late in the evening when Poppy finally woke up from her self-induced sleep. She was shaking and obviously nervous to have everyone gather in the room, but she wanted to explain everything. To tell her family about her past and why it had taken hold of her the other day. She had never told anyone about her abuse after joining the circus; after her mother refused to listen she felt no one would be able to understand. Maybe they would think it was her fault? What if they don’t believe her? Those thoughts always haunted her as a little girl and came back just as the memories did. She was terrified of what they’ll think of her after they hear the truth.   
As everyone settled in the living room they could tell something was off about Poppy. She was sitting straight up with her head looking down at her shaking hands. Her hair was falling around her messily covering her face from their view. She was gripping her knees so tight that her knuckles were turning white. “Are you okay?” Alice asked being the first one to speak. Poppy let out a breath and lifted her hand to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.   
“I’m fine.” She lied, but could feel her wall being torn down. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I know it must’ve scared you guys, but I’m fine now.”   
“No you’re not.” Seth says from the other side of the room. He’s leaning against the wall next to the big bay window letting in the star light. He wanted to let Poppy deal with this on her own and let her express what she wanted without him helping her, but he couldn’t stand by while she lied. He knew that the Cullens would go along with whatever she told them because of her fragile state. They didn’t want to upset her, but she needed to be honest with them. “You’re not fine Pops.” he looks at her with loving eyes, but the frown on his face made them look gloomy. He had been watching her emotions run freely on her face when she was out cold. Tears escaped her closed eyes and he knew that she was thinking, or dreaming about what caused her melt down. “You need to be honest with everyone. We want to help you, but you need to let us in.” She stared at him until her eyes began to form a red tint with her tears. She shifted her eye sight to the floor trying to keep her tears at bay.   
“It’s okay Poppy. I saw…” Alice whispered, “…everything. I saw everything, so you don’t have to be afraid.”   
“Is that what you’re afraid of?” Carlisle asked, but she didn’t answer, “Or is it something else? Does it scare you that we know?” She looked up at him and nodded. Wiping her eyes she looked back at the floor.   
“When I was little my father died in World War II, so my mother remarried a… evil man. She took a deep breath to settle her nerves, “He did horrendous things to me, but my mother never believed me. He was a wealthy man, with a farm, that gave her everything so of course she choose him over me.” She let out a little laugh while lifting up her head to look at everyone. “I was six when he first physically abused me.” The Cullens were silent as the listened to Poppy’s horrible past. They couldn’t help, but show their emotions in their faces. The feelings of sadness and anger washed over them. Even though they couldn’t do anything to change the past they just… felt sorry for her. “It lasted till I was ten that’s when I ran away with the Ringling Brothers. Yesterday the dumb toy in the commercial was called a P-poppy Doll which is the name that man use to call me. I’m sorry that I freaked everyone out the other day, but when all those memories came back I just lost it.”   
“You don’t have to apologize.” Jasper said. “You haven’t done anything wrong.” He stops at that not knowing how else to comfort his sister. No one knew how to make her feel better about what happened to her.   
“So that’s what happened yesterday then? Your powers didn’t work on us when you screamed, did you know that?” Carlisle asked not wanting Poppy to continue thinking about those memories. Quickly he tried to divert the conversation with merging the topic into her powers.   
Poppy nodded, “I just wanted to knock myself out so I hummed to myself before screaming.” Her tears were gone as well as the nerves that plagued her being. She felt calm like a heavy weight was just lifted off her shoulders. She never knew that the unknown memories were weighing her down so much, but now that they’ve been seen… said she could breathe again.   
“Well at least your powers can listen to you sometimes.” Emmett says earning a smile form Poppy. She was glad they didn’t hover over the horrid subject that she just told them. She wanted them to know what happened, but also wanted to move on more than anything. With her darkest days behind her she knew that her family would help her move forward and away from all the negativity.   
****  
The next couple of days were ‘normal’ until Bella and Edward came back from their cottage, which had just been finished. “Back so soon?” Emmett said from the couch. He swiped the remote from Poppy who pouted, but watched as he went on with his teasing. “Did you break a lot of stuff?” Smirking Poppy looked at Bella who shook her head with a scolding face.   
“Emmett, no.” she simply said making Poppy laugh. Bella sat down on the sofa next to the other two and nudged her, “Hey you never got to answer my question.” she said.  
“What question?” Poppy asked keeping her gaze on the TV.   
“You know about home schooling Reneesme.” Poppy remembers the request and looks at Bella.  
“Were you serious?” Bella squints her eyes at her, “Well I’ve never taught anyone in my life. I’m not like a teacher so what could she learn from me?” Poppy freaks out at the opportunity. She was extremely flattered that Bella thought so much of her, but teaching was something Poppy never thought she’d do.   
“Oh come on. What else do you have to do?” Emmett said from beside her. She opens her mouth to retort the statement, but nods instead.   
“That is true, but…” she begins, but Poppy looks at her with pleading eyes and she gives in, “Fine, I’ll do it. I’ll start when she can walk and talk. And if I’m too strict you can’t say anything either.”   
“As long as she becomes as smart as you I’m fine.” Poppy smiles at the compliment and goes back to the TV. Suddenly the phone begins to ring and everyone knows who it is. Carlisle picks it up to look at the collar ID, “Is it Charlie?” Bella asks. Carlisle gives a reassuring smile and puts the ringing phone back on the table.  
“He’s been calling my cell, but I guess he’s getting a little restless. Eventually we’ll have to tell him you didn’t make it.” Bella nods her head sadly and looks to Edward, “I wish it didn’t have to be like this.”   
“He has to mourn Bella.” Edward says. Poppy’s feelings towards Bella’s situation were mixed since she saw how Bella handled everything. She choose to become a vampire and yet isn’t ready to give up the people linking her to her human life.   
“I’m going to miss this place.” Poppy said stretching her arms out.   
“We’ll come back.” Emmett said flipping through the channels.  
“That’s right we always do sooner or later.” Carlisle says picking up the newspaper.   
“Wait you guys are leaving?” Jacobs says coming into the room.  
“Where’s Reneesme?” Bella asks.  
“Blondie has her, but don’t ignore what I just asked. You guys are leaving? No one said anything about leaving.” He looks to Carlisle for an answer.  
“Once people believe Bella’s dead we can’t risk anyone seeing her.” Poppy answers.  
“So you’d just disappear?” Jacob says with sadness in his eyes. Seth walks in hearing the conversation and kneels in front of Poppy.   
“You’re really leaving?” he asks Poppy in such a sad voice that it breaks her heart. She pulls him onto the couch and envelops him in her arms. Patting his head softly she whispers sweet nothings to him.  
“We don’t have another choice.” Edward says to Jacob.  
“I’m sorry, Seth. I forgot to tell you all of this.” Poppy says as Jacob storms off out of the house. He whimpers making Poppy feel even worse than she already does.   
“When will you come back?” he asks holding onto her arm tightly as if she was about to fly away.   
“I’m sorry Seth, but we’d only be able to come back once everyone who knew Bella is gone.” Carlisle says. Seth looks up at Poppy and moves a strand of hair from her face. He takes in every detail of her face as if it’s the first time he’s seeing her. He holds her in between his hands and caresses her cheeks feeling how soft they are. He didn’t want to say goodbye, but he knew that it was for their safety.   
“You have to come back to me.” He declares to Poppy earning a smile. She nods enthusiastically, “And you have to write me every day from where ever you are.” Again she nods with a smile. He holds her in his arms tightly like she’s going to leave any second. He gives other demands to make sure she’ll never forget him when she leaves and she smiles nodding to every single one. She would agree to everything he wanted since it meant he wouldn’t forget her either. Parting was something they never thought would happen, but there was no way around this predicament; which meant they’d have to go with the flow. Following the movements around them is what they were used to… as long as they were together. 


	32. Getting lucky

“You did what?!” Bella shouted at Jacob as he explained his crime. Once the wolf boys knew that the Cullen’s need to move away Jacob refused to let that happened. It was impossible for him to not have Reneesme in sight as well as Seth not have Poppy. Without consulting anyone Jacob took it upon himself to tell Charlie everything, or almost everything.  
“I didn’t tell him about you guys. I just said me… that I’m a werewolf.” He defended.  
“You mean shapeshifter.” Poppy adds earning a weird look from Jacob. She shrugged and went back to playing with Seth’s hair. They hadn’t moved from their spot on the couch since Jake left a while ago, since they believed that they would have to separate soon.   
“Jacob that was an incredibly stupid thing to do,” Edward says in his stern voice, “Do you have any idea the danger you put him in?” Jacob lifts his hands up defensively.  
“I had no other choice you were leaving. Besides isn’t this better for everyone. Now you don’t have to say goodbye to Charlie.” He says taking off his leather jacket.   
“You shouldn’t have told him anything, Jake.” Bella sighs while shaking her head like a mom getting after her child. Jacob shifts his weight to one leg and rubs the back of his neck nervously.   
“Well… it’s sucks that you said that because he’ll be here in fifteen minutes.” Shock hits the room as everyone gets the emergency human kit, prepared for Bella the days of her transformation. The kit included brown contacts and some makeup things to make her look less like a stone wall. Poppy and Alice had prepared it to be able to get Bella on a plane to leave Forks without drawing unnecessary attention.   
“Jake,” Poppy starts, “What exactly did you tell him?” She crosses her arms and waits for Alice to come back with the kit. She sits Bella down and begins to make her look sort of like her old self as she listens to Jacob.   
“I told him that she had to go through some changes to get well again. I explained that she’ll give off a different vibe and that she’ special,” he stops sighing at himself, “Also I told him that Reneesme is an orphaned niece of Edwards that they adopted.” Seth burst out laughing on the couch as does Poppy.  
“You couldn’t think of anything better than that.” Seth hollers from the couch.   
“Yea she looks just like Edward and Bella so hopefully he won’t think much of it.” As they popped the brown contacts in Bella’s eyes and took away some of the rogue in her cheeks they began with the lessons. It ended up turning into a scene from Pretty Women or Pygmalion with Poppy running the show. As they put the finishing touches on Bella the sounds of rough tires coming up the drive way rang through their ears. “Okay Bella you’ll be fine. Just remember to hold your breath so that you don’t smell his blood.” She says admiring Bella with her normal eyes.  
“But don’t forget to move your shoulders to make it look like you’re breathing.” Alice said from beside Poppy. Suddenly Seth gets up to wrap his arm around Poppy standing figure and cuddles up next to her. He loved how she was in charge and put so much effort into making sure Bella would be okay. As they hear Charlie make his way up the stairs Poppy and the rest of the family scatter throughout the house. Seth and Poppy retreated to her room since it was a little too bright outside for the delicate ballerina. After entering the room the air filled with this awkwardness that they couldn’t quite put their finger on. It was as if this was the first time they’d be alone in a room. With a sigh Seth collapses on the days be while Poppy slowly walks over.   
“Do you think this’ll work?” he asks her. She pouts as she thinks and climbs in next to him resting her head on his outstretched arm.   
“Honestly I don’t know.” She cuddled closer and wrapped her arm around his broad chest. His heart beat was the same erratic beat that could hypnotize Poppy into doing just about anything. Suddenly he turns to face her head on, “What?” she asks.  
“Tell me something crazy.” He says sounding anything, but demanding.   
“Crazy? Why are you thinking of doing something crazy?” they chuckle together and she traces intricate circles on his chest.   
“No I just want to talk. So tell me something crazy.” She pouts again trying to think of something crazy that she hasn’t already said.   
“The government is watching us right now.” She blurts out on impulse. He furrows his brows and smiles weirdly at the statement.  
“Oh no are you one of those crazy conspiracy fanatics?” he asks with a chuckle.  
She gasped, “What those are so fascinating to read. It’s so crazy how human don’t trust anyone anymore.” She goes on about other theories she has as well as one’s she’s read on the internet. Poppy draws Seth’s attention to the ceiling as she switches to a subject about the stars. Even if she wasn’t able to start a conversation she was sure as hell able to keep one up, which is what Seth loved about her. She was practically a human encyclopedia that was always ready to tell you something new. They laughed and gasped together as they tried to forget about the fact that they might be separated. Once the sun began to set they settled on a thumb wrestle and look each other in the eyes. Seth is always taken away by how grey her eye were as well as how perfect they complimented everything about her face. She was absolutely stunning.   
“I love you.” He utters softly. His inner self begins to panic at his statement, but he forgets those thoughts when he sees her smile.   
“I love you too, Seth; even if you don’t believe in the Illuminati.” He laughs and leans in to deliver a sweet, innocent kiss that still took her breath away. Poppy deepens the kiss and wraps her arms around his neck. She slips her hands in his hair pulling gently making Seth react quickly. He leans forward more and lays Poppy on her back while continuing to lock lips. He holds her hips tightly caressing her before his hands begin to slide all over her body. She moans into his lips giving Seth more reason to continue when he lifts one of her legs up to bend around his waist. Suddenly Poppy flips them over surprising Seth; he leaves her lips to look up at Poppy as she breaths heavily. Her eyes are the normal grey, but the yellow halo surrounding her pupils makes him snap out of his trance.   
“Poppy?” she hums and slithers down to his neck and places light kisses down the right side. His eyes flutter as he tries to fight the desire to keep going. Something was off about her and it didn’t feel right to continue anymore. “Poppy stop… W-what’s wrong?” Ignoring him she sits up and pulls her shirt off exposing her plain black bra. Taken over by passion Seth feels up her bare stomach, but stops before feeling her bra. He wanted to give in, but something didn’t feel right. Poppy wasn’t right or wasn’t acting herself right now which stopped everything. “Poppy snap out of it.” He sat up and grabbed her face gently. Suddenly a growl erupted from Poppy that could turn his hair white. She growled and exposed her extended canine teeth before jumping off his lap and dashing out of the room. In shock he could do nothing, but look at the empty door way.


	33. Worry Wart

A dream… is what it felt like to be awake with the full moon shinning bright in the sky. The sound of owls hooting mysteriously, leaves rustling in the wind, the light mist hitting everything in its path. Poppy felt at home in the forest as she ran to her hearts content during this full moon. It was odd for her to be this aware during her transformation, but she felt it was pointless to think about it now. She did whatever she wanted in fear that her time under the full moon would come to end at any moment. As she found an open field she stood in the middle taking in her surroundings. She had never felt more alive than she did in that very moment. She felt indestructible as she looked up at the full moon, admiring all the details it carried as well as thanking it for this amazing gift. Poppy had always been on the fence about her wolf form. Never liking it or disliking it she was always stuck in-between her own feelings about herself.   
Suddenly the trees began to rustle and Poppy notices yellow eyes coming from her right side. The scent of something familiar makes her senses spring into guard mode. As she crouches down into a defensive position she bares her teeth and growls as loudly as she could muster. She could tell the thing watching her was debating about whether it should retreat or not. Its eyes shifted from the ground to Poppy until the glowing of white teeth made its way out of the shadows. It walked slowly up to Poppy, baring its teeth and oozing this feeling of authority like she’s never felt. As it walks closer she is astonished to see a figure that is similar to hers. He looks exactly like her besides the yellow eyes, and his light brown fur. Her guard comes tumbling down as she realizes that the creature in front of her is another Child of the Moon; taking that chance he swiftly lunges at Poppy, tackling her to the ground.  
****  
Running out of Poppy’s room Seth yells to get someone’s attention. “Hello, anybody?! I know you guys can hear me!” Flying through the house he comes up empty handed until he runs into Emmett coming back from a hunt. “Emmett! Thank gosh I found you!”   
“What is it?” he looks behind and around Seth curiously, “Where’s short stuff?” Seth’s face scrunches up in even more concern as he tries to find the right words to describe what happened.   
“Well, she left cause of the full moon, but there was something weird about her.” Emmett’s face fades to concern then rage when Seth holds up his hands in defense, “But there was something off about her and now I have this really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.” Seth spits out all of his thoughts at once causing Emmett to rub his head in confusion. Straightening up he walks past Seth in towards the living room. “Wait! Where are you going?!” Seth asks.   
“To talk to Carlisle.” He looks back at Seth, “Are you coming?” Quickly he follows Emmett throughout the house until they come to the double doors of his office. Seth was always stunned at how most of these vampires didn’t sleep whatsoever. He had caught Poppy starring a couple of time at night to no she never slept either. He was so worried at the moment that the thought of her next to him made Seth want to whimper. He reassured himself that Poppy would be fine, but there was a bad feeling that kept haunting him. Carlisle was looking down at some notes and picture when they walked in. Sensing the worry from the brother and mate of Poppy he immediately came to them.   
“What is it?” he asks.  
“Seth says somethings happening with Poppy.” Emmett says pointing at the little wolf. Carlisle looks to Seth with concern dripping from off his face.  
“”Well… what happened?” Carlisle asked eager to find out the problem. Scratching the back of his head Seth hesitated a little thinking about how to word this embarrassing affair. “Come on Seth out with it.” Carlisle demands in his worried father voice.   
“This is kind of embarrassing Carlisle.” Seth admits with a sigh.  
“I’m a doctor Seth. I’m sure I can handle it.” Seth shakes his head slightly while making a weird face.  
“Look Poppy is your daughter and I’m sure you’ve never had to discuss the intimate details of her love life right.” Carlisle crosses his arms in an annoyed fashion making Seth give in. “Ok, but I am not to be hurt.” He says glancing at Emmett’s huge MMA fighter figure next to him.   
“Emmett please leave us. Get your siblings together just in case we need a search party.” Carlisle says. Emmet hesitates a little before doing as he’s told. Once he’s gone far enough Carlisle clears his throat and motions for Seth to go on.   
“Okay well, Poppy and I were lying in bed for a while until it kind of got heated. So we started to k-kiss, but in the middle of it something changed in Poppy. It was like she was a different person and she started to get … sort of aggressive. Then her eyes changed; there was a yellow halo around eyes before she got up and disappeared.” Carlisle stared intensely at Seth for minute making the younger feel a little uncomfortable. After squinting his eyes a little Carlisle sighs before going back to his desk chair.   
“Well there is a full moon tonight so that explains the halo around her eyes and the growls. She’s probably running around enjoying the moonlight, but we’ve never run into this type of situation before. Usually she’s extremely prepared for her transformations even before the day so this is odd.” He leans back in his chair with a concerned look gracing his face. “We’ll have to keep a more watch full eye on her.” Seth is at a loss at his words since there was no sense of panic in his voice. He was calm even though Seth was going to pieces at the thought of Poppy running off suddenly.  
“You’re not scared that something might’ve happened to her?” Seth asks. Carlisle looks at him with sympathy gracing his eyes.   
“There is nothing more we can do. I understand your worried about her, so am I, but the fact is that Poppy is the most powerful creature out there. No matter what situation is thrown at her she’ll be able to fight it herself. You may have a bad feeling now, but that comes from the abundance of love you feel for her.” He motions at the chair in front of his desk, “Please take a seat Seth.” With a heavy sigh he takes the offer and slouches down in the chair. “It’s hard isn’t it?” Carlisle suddenly asks. Seth glances up at him unsure of how to answer. He knew that the topic was still Poppy, but was it alright to admit it was hard. Loving and worrying about someone who was your reason for living. It was hard.   
“I don’t understand how anyone can go through this.” Seth admits. Carlisle smiles sweetly as he continues to relax in his chair.   
“If I’m being honestly I don’t know how you can go through this either, but I’m glad you are. Poppy loves you very much which is why she’s changing. Maybe you should talk to Edward since he’s been through this sort of situation.” Seth nods and gets up from his chair to make his way to the door.   
“Don’t worry Seth she’ll be back in the morning.” Carlisle says as Seth leaves the room. With no real destination Seth walked around the house. He knew that Edward was with Bella at their little cottage and refused to disturb them. He’d have to wait for another time to talk to him, which he didn’t mind. This gave him time to think about everything that’s been happening. Carlisle’s little talk didn’t help organize his thought or calm him down; all it did was confuse him. His mind felt completely cluttered with questions. It wasn’t like he was questioning if he loved Poppy, he loved her with all his being. There were was just a sense of curiosity that he felt would never be satisfied. Sometimes he didn’t even know what questions needed answering. As their worlds collided many things had been destroyed without answers. He was frustrated about not being able to have answers to questions he didn’t even have. It was infuriating to feel like this in his adolescent time. Did he need to grow up? Were things always going to be this difficult? Plaguing his mind like a disease he thought of those questions as he wandered aimlessly.   
As night changed to day Seth found himself on Poppy’s little couch waiting. He wanted her to be home already, but she hadn’t turned up yet. His worrying had multiplied, but he kept it at bay since his Carlisle talk. It bugged him how calm everyone was even though Poppy was nowhere near him.   
“I’m sure she’ll be back any moment.” Edward says interrupting Seth’s thoughts. “Are you okay, Seth? You seem… stressed.” Seth chuckles at the statement.   
“No I’m okay it’s just I’m worried about Poppy. She hasn’t come back yet.” He looks away from Edward and out the bay windows hoping to see something.   
“You know she’s going to be okay right. This isn’t her first time changing into a werewolf so she knows what she’s doing… most of the time.” Seth chuckles, but keep his eyes full of worry. “Seth I know that you’re worried, but a word of advice don’t get yourself worked up.” Snapping his head back to look at Edward, Seth gets ready to reply, but he continues. “Look Seth take it from someone who has been to hell and back because the girl you love is the air you breathe; don’t try to shoulder all the worry because she’ll have your head for it. Especially since your girl is Poppy, who has been taking on her problems by herself for centuries, she won’t want you to be worrying like this.” A little relief over took Seth as he listened to Edward. He had always valued Edward’s opinion since he was the only one who tried to talk to him. The other Cullens tolerated the wolf stench, but you could see the how much they’d rather have him outside. Suddenly a figure flashed by causing the papers in the living room to scatter around wildly. A bright smile graces Seth’s face as he looks at around at the unfazed Cullens.   
“Poppy’s back!” he yells completely forgetting he was talking to Edward. Getting up Seth makes his way to the attic quickly eager to see his love. He wanted to know how she felt, where she went, if anything had happened, everything. 


	34. Heirloom

“Are you okay?” Seth asked as Poppy threw a sweater over her gray tank top. She had said nothing to him since she got back second ago. There was something off about her, Seth could tell just by her air. “Pops, talk to me. Please I’ve been worried sick about you.” He walks up to her and lightly grabs her arms. He wraps his arms around her tightly hugging her back; slowly he felt her relax and release a sigh. She had calmed down from whatever happened to her in the forest. “What happened?”  
“It was just so intense. I-I’ve never been awake for that long and for everything.” She says slowly.  
“You were awake the whole time?” Seth asks in excitement, “That’s great right? Do you feel okay are you hungry? Or need anything?” she turned around in his arms and snuggled up to his chest cutely.  
“I just need you to be here. Just hold me for a little bit.” His excitement dies down as he wonders about Poppy’s wellbeing. He wondered about what had happened to her, but decided to let it go. All he wanted right now was to make her happy; to feel her next to him was enough to calm his mind.  
Everyone is the house sensed something off about Poppy since she began to resort to her old ways. She began to get distant, always staying her room and making sure that no one was around when she was walking around. “I’ve had enough of this.” Alice suddenly said getting up from the couch. Without consulting anyone she dashed to the attic, where Poppy was practicing, and knocked softly on the door. After a minute of waiting she barged in to see Poppy finishing a twirl while Seth snored deafeningly.  
“Alice,” Poppy starts, “Is anything wrong?” she looks at her with a concerned look. Without an answer Alice grabs Poppy and drags her down stairs, “What are you doing?” Poppy was too weak to fight so she simply let herself get dragged down. Alice sat her in her designated chair before going back to her seat on the couch.  
With a small sigh she crosses her legs gracefully, “Poppy what is wrong with you? We can feel you going back to your old ways and…” she looks around the room at the family around her, “were worried about you.” There were no words to describe how Poppy felt at that moment. She had seen something the night of the full moon that made her question her existence. Odd was the word that flew around her mind, but it was something more than that. She didn’t want to bring it up to her family just yet since even Poppy herself didn’t know what she was feeling. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it right now.” Alice continues. Poppy smirks as she senses the connection between Edward and Alice working at her mind.  
“Well that was easy.” Poppy shooting a look at Edward,” I-I just need to sort things out on my own right now. But I’ll let you guys know everything as soon as I know what is going on.” The Cullens were hesitate to agree to this, but decided it would be the best for Poppy; it was enough for her to be able to admit something like this was going on.  
“Okay, Poppy we won’t pry. Just remember that we’re here for you.” Alice gives her a sweet smile making Poppy crake one as well. Poppy knew that it was gonna take a lot of work by herself, but she need to do it on her own. The next day something arrived for the Cullens that sent shivers down Poppy’s spine. It was a small yet sizable package that had some weight to it meaning it was of value. By the intricate wrapping and the crest indented into the red wax Poppy immediately knew who it was from.  
“What is that?” Emmett says running up with the Seth by his side. Not answering Poppy went to the kitchen table to set down the square package. “Short stuff? Are you okay?” he asks before looking down. “It’s the Volturi crest? Do you know what it is?” Poppy shakes her head while reaching for the card tucked neatly in-between the yellow parchment looking wrapping. As the rest of the clan trickled in she slowly opened the letter to see beautiful calligraphy writing.  
'For the new addition to the family, young Bella we hope you accept this gift as a welcome to immortality. There is also something little for the little seedling you’ve been hiding.'  
Poppy trembles as she reads the last sentence over and over in her head. Handing the letter to Jasper next to her, she unwraps the package to uncover a scarlet red velvet that holds a huge diamond necklace. Its long and bright as the daylight hits it making Bella slowly reach for it. Poppy however was taken by the small pin at the edge of the case. It loosely rolled as she balanced the case in one hand to pick up the pin. It was something that made her heart stop; it was simple a newly polished silver pin holding up an opal stone. Holding the opal to the pin were silver tear drops figures that made it look like it was melting into one perfect mesh. “Oh my gosh.” Poppy whispers. As she stares at it with red tinted eyes she felt a rush of emotions hit her.  
“That’s beautiful?” Seth says from behind her. “What is it?” Sucking up her tears she calmed herself down.  
“It was my mother’s. I thought I lost it a long time ago.” She sets down the case and looks at the letter again, “Looks like someone wanted to play a cruel joke.”  
“So it looks like he knows you’re here.” Carlisle states to Poppy. She glanced up at him with a scared expression, but he shook his head at her. “Don’t worry from the looks of it he doesn’t hold any hard feelings… that we know of.” He grabs the letter and looks it over carefully, “We should be fine just don’t think about it.”  
“Speaking of not thinking,” Bella interject suddenly placing her gift back into the case. “Did you forget the plans we made Poppy?” Throwing her a confused glance Poppy shrugs. “You… teaching Reneesme.” It was true that Poppy hadn’t even thought of doing that sense the whole Charlie fiasco. The situation was odd since Reneesme had grown extremely fast, but Poppy needed a distraction from everything. Even though she thought it was still a little too early to teach Nessi she agreed wholeheartedly.  
“Fine, but I don’t know where to even start.” Poppy admits. “I’ve never taught anyone in my life.”  
“Like I said that’s fine just… go with the flow or look up lesson plans on the computer. They have those right?” Bella turns to Edward. He shrugs and places his hands in his pockets.  
“Honestly I don’t know. She’ll be able to think of something though, Poppy is all about structure and discipline. Besides Reneesme is incredibly smart and can pick up things really fast. I’m sure they’ll be fine.” Poppy makes a face at him as she pins her mother’s heirloom to her shirt. It would be an understatement to say that Poppy was nervous to teach. Doing something that she’s never done before would be an interesting way to get mind off of the things clouding her brain. 


	35. 99 Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Probably my favorite chapter. Edward and Poppy butt heads about Reneesme's education. Seth finds out how Poppy's vampire-ness lives.

“For the last time I am not gonna start with chemistry.” Poppy scuffs at Edward as he tried to mold Reneesme’s lessons plans, which had barely started a couple of days ago. “We’re just getting into middle school math so chill out dad.” After looking over some of Reneesme’s work Poppy had finally relaxed on the couch with Seth. Edward had pranced in after peeking through some of their workings eager to put his two cents in.  
“But why can’t she go through every subject like in a regular school? Wouldn’t it be easier to have her in the same kind of atmosphere as a normal child?” Sighing Poppy gets up from the couch. To say she was fed up would be the understatement of the century. Not only was she home schooling Reneesme, but she was also taking extra time to help Carlisle look over her abnormal growth. Poppy felt she was doing everything for Edward, but all he could do was criticize the way she ran things… she was sick of it.   
“Look first of all Nessi’s is never going to be a normal child so get that thought out of your head this instant. Second of all her brain capacity is growing five time faster than any child her age, so the lesson plan I’m fabricating is to suit her needs. I want to make sure she can soak up everything by not overloading her with information just like these wastelands America has the nerve to call a school. Third of all the deal for me to teach Nessi’s was that I get to do things my way and you stay out. If you can’t deal with that then why don’t you teach her yourself?” With a huff Poppy walked out of the living room and up the stairs. Seth lagged behind still analyzing the situation that had just unfolded before him. Edward looked at him with a blank stare forcing Seth to deliver an awkward smile.   
“She does have a point.” He says quietly. Edward was at a loss for words since most or all of what Poppy said was true. He just wanted the best for his daughter and couldn’t wrap his head around anyone being able to deliver something more than perfect. It was as if he might’ve been a little jealous of the fact that Poppy could teach Reneesme more than him even though she was his younger.   
Poppy stayed in her room the rest of the night dancing as she always did. Carlisle had sent for a new shoe maker which was able to deliver and had twelve sons that insisted on taking over the business; now Poppy would never have to look for a different shoe maker for at least a couple life times. Suddenly Seth’s scent pulled her out of her ballet zone, "Are you okay, Pops?" he asks. She sighs and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Slowly the loose strand falls out again which makes Poppy go completely insane. Yanking her hair out her bun she lets it fall messily around her face and ruffles it making it even crazier.   
“I’m fine.” She sits on her bed and crosses her legs. Playing with her hair tie she doesn’t look up at Seth once. He sits next to her and brushes her hair lightly trying to comfort her.   
“It’s okay if you’re not fine. Just talk to me… please.” She looks up at him and sees his pleading eyes. He looked so innocent that it made her heart throb and pound in her chest. As she continued to stare her throat began to get itchy and tingly. Looking away with a hiss she pushed the thoughts of her hunger away. She hadn’t fed since the full moon which she knew was making her lose control of her emotions. “Pops?” Seth presses further. Shaking her head she tries to control her inner animal; she hadn’t explained to Seth how her vampire-self survived. She knew it wouldn’t paint her in the most flattering light and wanted to push it off as far as she could. Poppy wanted Seth to see her for who she was instead of the monster she could become.   
“I’m fine Seth. This teacher thing is really stressful though and I’m thinking if I should really do it or not.” She lies. Mentally she apologizes as his face brightens at her not so severe problem that was a lie. They talked until Seth fell asleep which was the usual ending to their days. Poppy loved how fulfilled she felt these days now that there were no real threats keeping her from her family. Now that she had Seth and Bella was finally a vampire, Poppy felt like she could finally breathe. All she wanted to do now was enjoy the eternity they had together as a big, mixed family. At around one in the morning Poppy slipped out of bed and went downstairs to Carlisle study. They had been researching old legends and Reneesme’s physical being since she grew to look like a 5 year old at only a month old. Opening the door she notices Carlisle hunched over an ancient book while rubbing his forehead.   
“Seth already asleep?” he asks not looking up from the book.   
“Yup.” Poppy walks to his desk and grabs the latest checkup folder on Reneesme. “Have her blood test come back yet?” she asks Carlisle. He gets up swiftly and goes to a file cabinet on the other side of the room. Pulling out a yellow folder he goes back to his desk and drops it closer to Poppy.  
“They have, but her blood is like something I’ve never seen before. The molecular structure is also strange which doesn’t surprise me.” They continue to talk doctor until the sun comes up and Carlisle begins to head out for work. As he gets his medical bag together he takes a look at Poppy whose still looking over Nessi’s blood work. Her hair was in a lazy ponytail, her skin was getting paler by the minute, and her eyes were almost pitch black. “When was the last time you fed?” Carlisle pries. She makes a face and takes a sip of her freshly brewed coffee.   
“A while ago.” She replies obviously avoiding the true answer. He lifts an eyebrow and stares her down until she caves, “Okay I’ve been a little busy to go, but I’ll do it later.”   
“Poppy you can’t wait this out anymore; you need to feed today. We don’t know how your body will react if you haven’t fed for this long.” She nods her head slowly understanding that she might be putting everyone around her in danger. She had never gone this long without human blood and decided it was time to put this experiment, if that’s what it was, to rest.   
“Fine I will go right now.” She gets up and heads for the door.  
“Wait!” Carlisle calls before she opens the door, “Are you sure you want to go right now? I don’t know if the sun is going to be out today. Why don’t you wait until tonight?”   
“Don’t worry old timer. I’ve done this in the day light before and beside I can feel it’s about to rain. I won’t be the only one wearing a sweater with the hood up.” Carlisle was for sure worried, but he knew that Poppy had been hunting by herself for ages; she could handle herself in a dire situation if necessary.   
“Very well… please be safe and come straight home afterwards.” After making a ‘no-duh’ face she ran up to her room to get situated. Opening the door slowly she saw Seth still bundled up in the thick purple blanket with a dorky smile. As she got dressed in plain jeans, a David Bowie t-shirt, and black hoodie she thought of her plans. She decided to head to Seattle with the heavy rain people would be more concerned with keeping dry than something shady going on in an alley. It won’t be the prettiest feeding she’s done in a while, but it’ll get the job done. Poppy only liked to go to Seattle during the day since there were other vampires that fed there; it was easier to hunt when they were all underground.   
Without her knowing Seth began to awake from his deep sleep which he was particularly quiet about. He watched as she slipped her t-shirt and sweater on before undoing her lazy ponytail. Captivated by the way her fingers moved to form a fishtail braid he nuzzled into the blanket that smelled everything like her. As she tried to slip on her black converse slowly he noticed two odd things about her person. 1: she was trying to be quiet which meant she obviously didn’t want him to notice. 2: she was leaving somewhere right now. Seth knew that if she kept a secret it would be for a good enough reason, but he couldn’t help feel like he was always being left out. He decided that in order for him to be caught up in all things Poppy he was going to have to do something he knew she would hate. Once she was finally done dressing he closed his eyes slowly and pretended he was sound asleep like she thought. Poppy gave him a peck on the cheek and ran her hand through his hair before disappearing out the door. With a smile he got up and ran outside not bothering with changing clothes. In an instant he shifted and began to follow her scent through the forest.   
****  
Rain falls in crazy chaotic drops, the gusting wind carrying them in wild vortices one moment and in diagonal sheets the next. The pitter patter of the rain creates a shield around her as she clears her mind by simply just running. Poppy had always loved the rain ever since she was a little girl. The silver puddles create an obstacle course for the unusual teen as she runs through the forest; the path is muddy water in motion, filling deep puddles that hide the ruts of dryer weather. Poppy wanted to experience each drop, together and apart, same and different. As she zoomed to Seattle she could see the millions of droplets soaking everything in its path. The rain was always a reminder of how she felt inside, chaotic and wild just like the pureness of nature.   
Reaching Seattle in no time she slowed down looking for the busiest parts of the city not taken over by the disarray of rain. Poppy smelled the air trying to cancel out the musky smell of the work loads and rain. Her instincts suddenly took over as a man in a suit ran in front of her. Jogging across the street the man took shelter in a rundown Chinese restaurant. He was average looking with semi-gray hair, and simple brown eyes; a complete average Joe that smelled like fresh wine. With the constant changes in Poppy’s taste she often let her instinct do the picking, which was normal for a vampire who fed on humans. Recently however Poppy began to notice that she often went for certain types of people depending on their gender. For instance with women she was often draw to the young and more alternative types, but with men they were always older and very business oriented. ‘At least some of my vampire works.’ She thought to herself.   
Since the rain created a tremendous roar of noise she waited until he was looking out of the window to use her power. As she locked his brown eyes in she ‘persuaded’ him to make the courageous journey outside. He jogged back across the street and followed after Poppy. She took him to a secluded area; an alley way blocked by several dumpsters and disregarded items. He was barely taller than Poppy so they were able to hide in the back behind one of the green dumpsters. Before doing anything Poppy checks around to make sure no one will be able to catch them. Once the coast is clear she smirks and wraps her arms around the man’s neck. She slowly brings her nose to sniff out his neck, becoming drunk by the sweet yet bitter smell of his blood. Opening her mouth to expose her growing canines she bites down before sighing in relief. The average Joe moans softly and grabs her waist as he’s overtaken by the intense pleasure he feels radiating from his neck. Poppy drinks and drinks until she hears a gasp come from beside them; detaching herself she turns to see Seth starring in horror.  
“Seff?” she says lisping with her large teeth still exposed. He stares, not saying anything, at Poppy with her long teeth, red eyes, and a little trickle of blood on her chin. The average Joe falls softly to the floor, dazed and confused. In shock Poppy turns away from her love and covers her mouth. “Seff whaff are you doing here?” she asks as her canines retreat going back to normal. He didn’t know how to respond accept with a light chuckle. Confused Poppy turns around, “You’re laughing… at this?”  
“Uhm, y-you have a little something on-on your chin.” He says motioning to his own. Poppy wipes away at her chin while scoffing in disbelief. Without saying anything else she makes the average Joe forget and continue his day before the couple head back to Forks. As they get walk up the stairs to the Cullen residence, Seth tries to get answers, “You’re not gonna explain?” he asks.   
“I don’t think it needs explaining Seth.” Poppy answers as they walk into the house and up the stairs to the living room. The couple doesn’t take notice of the family conversation taking place as they continue their ‘discussion’.   
“Poppy I think I deserve an explanation.” Seth says lightly grabbing her hand to turn her around. He wanted to see her face to mark all the differences he saw. He could tell the feeding helped her skin glow again as well as made her stunning grey eyes come back. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or feel like a monster… he just wanted answers.  
“An explanation for what?!” Poppy exclaims.  
“For what I just saw?”   
“Okay I’ll explain that to you once you explain how you found me in the first place.” Opening his mouth he wanted to retort back, but he couldn’t. “That’s what I thought.” She turns and notices all eyes on the couple, “Uhm is everything all right.” She asks taking notices of their distraught faces.   
“We may have a problem.” Carlisle sighs. Poppy groans and runs a hand through her bangs before crossing her arms.  
“Great.” 


	36. Immortal Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cullens fill in Poppy on Irina problem as well as the vision Alice had. They end up having to fill Bella and Poppy in on the history of the immortal children. Alice and Jasper leave

As the cold winter day began to come to an end the Cullens found themselves in the library surrounded by nothing but silence. Searching for the right books Poppy was able to gather three with a decent amount of information on specific legends. “Why do we need these anyway?” Carlisle had yet to explain the misfortune of events that took place before Poppy’s arrival.

“Irina came by the other day, but left without saying anything to us. We assumed it was the mere presence of Jacob that might have scared her off.” He pauses to look around at Edward and Alice, “Then when you were gone Alice had a vision.”

“A vision of what?” Poppy asks turning to Alice, who looked incredibly troubled. Her eyes were bugged and unfocused as she kept playing her vision in her head. Jasper hugged her close to calm her down, but there was a sense of panic that oozed off her being.

“The Volturi they’re coming for us; Aro, Caius, Marcus, the Guard, their wives… and Irina.” Alice answers. “Apparently Irina mistook Reneesme for an immortal child.”

“Immortal child?” Seth queried stepping in from the hallway. He made his way to Poppy and put his arm around her reassuringly. The young couple still hadn’t talked about the incident early in the day, but Poppy had put that on the back burner for now. She wanted to focus on her family’s problem in order to help her keep pushing the ‘I still drink human blood’ discussion.

“During, what you humans call, the plague was when the outbreak of immortal children happened. Since most vampire women wanted a chance to have a baby they’d grow attached to a mortal one and eventually changes them.” Poppy says flipping through one of the books.

“She’s right.” Carlisle continues, “The immortal children were enchanting; just to be near them was to love them, but their development was frozen at the age they were turned. They couldn’t be taught or restrained. A single tantrum could destroy an entire village. Sasha, Irina’s mother, had crossed that line long before even I was born.” He points to a picture of an old drawing. A boy with curly hair, small and joyful; Poppy couldn’t help, but feel odd looking at it.

“So the Denali’s mother made an immortal child?” Bella asked.

“Yes and she paid the price. The Volturi were forced to intervene when rumors began to spread.” Carlisle finishes.

“Think of what Irina saw that afternoon.” Poppy says suddenly, “To a girl who lost her mother because of an immortal child… of course she thinks Nessi is one of them. Has she already gone to the Volturi?” Alice shakes her head.

“No, but she’s already decided. And then they will decide to come for us… it’s as if they’re waiting for her.” Alice picks at her nails nervously making the whole room concerned. They had never seen Alice so distressed about a vision. She was always calm and optimistic, but now it felt like she had reached a wall she didn’t know how to overcome. “It’s like their decision was already made, but they needed a solid reason to come for us.” She whispers.

“So what does this mean?” Bella asks the room, “Do we go to trial or something?” Edwards places his hand on her shoulder.

“This isn’t the type of crime you go to trial over, love. Aro has enough proof in Irina’s thoughts to come and destroy us.”

“But Reneesme is nothing like those children. She was born not bitten; she grows every single minute.” Bella retorts.

“So can’t you explain that to the Volteri or whatever?” Jacobs probes.

“It’s over.” Poppy replies, “We might as well be sentenced to death already.”

“So we fight right?” Jasper shakes head at Jacob.

“Their offensive weapons are too powerful no one can stand against them. Why do you think they’ve been in charge so long?”

Bella runs a hand through her hair before looking back at Jasper, “So why don’t we try to convince them?”  
“They’re coming to kill, not reason with us.” Emmet says.

“No wait…” Edward utters suddenly. “They won’t listen to us, but… maybe-maybe others can try to convince them. Carlisle you have friends all around the world.”

“I won’t ask them to fight.” He says.

“Not fight; witness.” Edward leans forward and closes the book in front of Bella, “if enough people knew the truth the Volturi would have to listen.”

“It could work. If we ask this of our friends the Volturi would have to stop for a second to hear us out.” Esme says rubbing circles on Carlisle hands. As Carlisle nods in agreement Poppy leaves the room with her head down. She was so worried about this whole mess that her stomach was doing flips. Slowly she walks out onto the balcony overlooking their yard. Taking in the still full moon she feels some relief, but her mind is still bundled.

“Are you okay Pops?” Seth’s voice comes from behind her. She looks back at him and notices how uncheerful he looks. Pained by the fact that she’s causing him to lose his smile she sighs and looks back out onto the horizon.

“Why does every one of our conversations starts with you asking that?” Poppy asks with a not so enthusiastic chuckle. He moves to stand next to her and leans on the ledge for support, “I’m sorry.” She suddenly says.

“For what crazy; you haven’t done anything.” Seth brings his hand up to poke her cheek cutely. He hoped it would earn him a smile, but all it does is make her turn to face him with an aggrieved look.

“You know the only time I see you smile anymore is when you’re asleep.” Poppy admits. “I feel like you’re never gonna be happy if you stay with me.”

“Pops,” he sighs, “I’m always happy when I’m with you, you just don’t see it cause you’re always worried about something. Although I do admit I’ve been just as intensely worried, but I’m just worried about you.”

“Well stop worrying. I’m fine!” Poppy exclaims.

“No you’re not and I can tell!” Seth suddenly grasps her arms and shakes her gently, “Wake up Poppy please! You don’t have to carry all the weight by yourself… just talk to me.” His voice wavers as Seth lets his emotions loose. All the emotion he had built up suddenly came crashing down as he finally bared his thoughts to her. “I’m always gonna worry about you, but you have to tell what’s going on with you. That way we can think of a solution and worry together.” She exhales before leaning forward to place her head on his shoulder.

“I’m scared.” Poppy whispers as her vision becomes red with her tears. He moves his arms to wrap around her neck and brings her closer to him. He hugs her close while patting her head trying to sooth her as she also bares her emotions. “With the Volturi coming for us it feels like everything is crashing down. I was supposed to be dead to them, but now that they know I’m here these allegations get thrown in. You know I keep thinking that if Irina hadn’t jumped to conclusions how would they have come for me; would they have come for me at all?” Seth pushes her away and gets down at her eye level. Shushing her he wipes the red tears coming from her eyes. Seth had only heard a brief summary about Poppy’s life with the Volturi, but never pried on the subject.

“I’m never going to let them hurt you Poppy.” He says looking deep into her eyes. “You don’t have to be afraid… because I’ll protect you. So no more of this holding your feelings back okay?” He smiles sweetly making Poppy’s heart melt. No one had ever told her anything like that before, not even her father. It was like the boulder that weighed on her heart was being lifted slowly. It was still gonna take some time for Poppy to get used to this sharing of her thoughts , but with Seth she felt a sort of support that lets her know everything would be okay.

The next morning the Cullens were all set to leave when Poppy and Seth walked into the kitchen without their bags. “You haven’t packed yet?” Carlisle asked as he handed Esme their passports.

“We’re not going; I think it would be best for me to stay here.” Poppy says. Carlisle and Esme frowned at the new information. They hadn’t had a trip with Poppy ever since she turned and were really looking forward to going to Paris with her. Seeing their faces Poppy smiles, “It’s fine I just don’t want to cause trouble and most of your friends are already scared of me.” She slowly entwines her fingers to Seth’s that were right next to her, “Besides I won’t be alone, so you don’t have to worry.”

“I guess its fine.” Esme says shooting a persuading look towards Carlisle, who was still processing everything the fatherly way. Suddenly a knock at the door was heard making the family turn toward it. Poppy opened the door to see Sam, “Yes.” Esme says behind her.

“I have a note from Alice and Jasper.” He states quickly. Poppy lets him in before taking the not in his hand, “They crossed our land last night to the Pacific.” In Alice’s delicate hand writing it read;  
‘Gather as many witnesses as you can before the snow sticks to the ground, that’s when they’ll come. We’re sorry to leave you this way with no goodbyes or explanations. It’s the only way for us.’

“What does it say?” Rosalie asks. Handing the note to Carlisle Poppy rereads it again in her head. She felt like someone had punched her in the heart, it hurt to see that they had them in the one moment the family needed them the most.

“They’ve left us. She didn’t say why.” Esme whimpered as her eyes glossed over with the urge to cry. Silence followed by more silence until there was the sound of a scoff from Rosalie and without another word she grabbed her bag.

“We’re leaving.” She says with hardly any emotion which Poppy knew meant she was trying her hardest not to show emotion. Emmett followed behind with his duffle bag over his shoulder and his head down.

“See you guys when we come back from New Orleans.” It was a shock for everyone that Alice left so suddenly without any notice. The feeling of ignorance with the complexity of the situation began to settle in the room. An uncomfortable atmosphere that didn’t go away even as the family trickled out of the house; as each search party left Poppy couldn’t help, but still feel strange. The one person that usually kept the family happy was gone.

“So…” Seth said as he sat next to Poppy on the couch. It hadn’t set in that they would be alone for a couple weeks until Poppy heard the silence in the house. She was relieved that she had fed before this drama went down, but was still scared that her ‘mojo’ would act up again. As she looked at his cute face she prepared herself mentally to hold back… on anything. 


	37. Old Friends

“How do you not have any peanut butter?” Seth exclaims as he examines the cabinet for the hundredth time. The first day of the young couple being all alone in the Cullen’s house went by in a flash since Seth caught up on some much needed sleep. Now as the morning beckoned him awake he had been searching for something other than greens to fill his hunger. Poppy chuckled as he kept rummaging through the selves expecting for the peanut butter to suddenly appear.

“You realize you’re in a vampire’s house right?” she sits on the bar stool and watches from across the island. With a sigh he closes the small door, finally done with his hunt, and walks over to Poppy slowly. He leans on her and rests his head on her exposed shoulder, “We can order pizza or go on a hunt?” Poppy suggests.

“I really wanted PB&J.” he whines. Poppy thought for a second of her options; she was never one to give in to peoples whines, but she couldn’t possibly live through the next hour with Seth’s pouting face. They could go to the store real quick and restock the fridge for Jacob, Seth, and herself. After debating to herself she lifted her shoulder to bring Seth’s face up to hers.

“Fine let’s go to the store so we can get your freaking crap.” Seth breaks out in a huge smile before he lifts Poppy up from her chair, “Wait I have to change!” Poppy exclaims in between burst of laughter; without putting her down Seth heads up stairs.

It wasn’t stores Poppy hated; it was just the being out in the open that was so dreadful for her. Humans are always drawn to her or her family by them just being, of course some of them loved the attention, but after her performing days she thought the days of her being gawked at were over. If on a stage, or up in the air she would be able to take their stares and use it as fuel to overcome her fears. As a monster trying to pass as a human it was harder to use their stares let alone ignore them. “Are you ready yet?” Seth asked from the bed. She had made him change into something decent before disappearing into the closet. She always wanted to look her best no matter what, but now she had to take in the fact that it was snowing like crazy. Even if she didn’t feel the cold she needed to wear something… more human.

“Yea hold your horses.” As she stepped out of the closet she went to look herself over in her ballet mirrors. Her outfit was simple yet still completely different than any kid her age in Forks would wear. She sported the same dark purple tank top, but put a black and white flannel as well as a thin black jacket over it. Underneath she wore plain black pants with little punk booties to match. Her Cullen ring along with many others graced her hands and simple silver chain fell loosely down her chest. Pulling her hairs back in a low and messy bun she turned to Seth, “You ready?”

“Were only going to the store right?” he asked as he sat up.

“Yeesss…” Poppy answered hesitantly, “Why did you need to go somewhere else?”

“Well no, but… you know what never mind.” Standing up he watches as Poppy fiddles with her outfit feeling how tense she was. He reaches for her hands and caresses it softly before giving it a kiss, “Let’s go okay.” Holding her hand the whole way they went down to the garage and hoped in Carlisle car.

******

The store wasn’t as crowded as Poppy thought which made it a little easier, but the folks that they passed were still not so shy about hiding their stares. Seth could tell that Poppy felt uncomfortable with all the people by how she would squeeze his hand a little tighter when someone walked by them. She walked with her eyes to the floor and would move out of the way if someone was about to walk the same way. “You doing okay Pops?” he asks letting go of her hand to wrap around her waist tightly.

“Yup just the gawking is getting so old by now.” She said after exhaling a sigh in relief from feeling his arm around her.

“Don’t let them get to you. Completely ignore them if you have to; just know that they can’t do anything to you. They’re starring because you’re the most beautiful person they’ve ever seen.” He pulls her in closer and eventually gets her in between the cart and himself. Placing a kiss on her cheek they continue to walk around the store. Eventually Poppy is caught up in their little bubble to notice the people passing by. Most people were looking at them interact since they both appeared to be incredibly young, yet they argued over the grocery list like a middle aged old married couple. Seth would bring something to the cart and Poppy would look it over and either put it back or give in to his antics. As they finished their shopping the young couple made their way back to the front when a voice called out to Seth.

“Hey Clearwater!” a cheerful, perky voice called from behind. Seth snapped his head back to looks and broke out into a smile.

“Nate, hey man!” He replied as he walked up to the unknown figure; the boys gave each other a long bro hug as Poppy starred awkwardly. She smelled the air clouding the guy and could tell he was from the same descent as Seth, but didn’t have the shapeshifter gene. He was fine looking with a nice tan, long black hair, and broad shoulders; Seth was barely taller than him which made him look bigger in muscle mass than his friend. “How have you been? I haven’t seen you since last year, how was California?” Seth asked enthusiastically. Poppy stayed back simply observing the conversation since she could tell how excited Seth was to see his old friend.

“Cali was amazing man! You should go sometime… it’s awesome.” His sentenced slowed as his eyes shifted from Seth to Poppy. “Uh are you gonna introduce me?” he said making his voice deeper as he checked his breath. With a chuckle Seth brought his hand around Poppy’s waist again and pulled her closer.

“This is Poppy, my girlfriend.” Flashing her killer smile she could see the stunned look on the friends face. “Pops this is one of my oldest friends, Nathaniel.” She extends a hand which Nathaniel takes eagerly.

“Wow I didn’t think Seth was capable of snatching up such a beautiful girl like you. How long have y-” He cuts off his sentence when he catches sight of the ring on Poppy’s finger. The Cullen crest shined bright under the florescent store lights causing the guy to pull his hand away from Poppy’s rapidly. Nathaniel looked up at her in disgust as the realization sets in that she is a cold one. Seth looks from him to her ring and steps in between his once best friend and his now whole world.

“Look Nate we have to go.” He says taking a step back.

“I never thought you’d go for something like that.” He sneers keeping his eyes on Poppy. Still confused at the situation unfolding before her she takes a fist full of Seth’s sweater and backs away slowly.

“Seth lets go okay. We got everything we need.” Seth’s air changes into this musky aroma that is filled with confidence and strength. He follows Poppy’s pull though keeping his guard up as they begin to walk away.   
“How can you be so submissive to a monster?” Nathaniel whispers knowing Seth would hear. With a huff he turns back to his old friend and walks with so much rage he sees nothing, but red. The fact that he called the love of his life a monster made Seth’s blood boil. He grabbed the collar of Nathaniel’s shirt and lifted him up off the ground.  
“Don’t you ever call her that again.” He practically growls as he thinks about the many ways he can rip him apart. Seth felt the rush of emotions as he stood there; like if the world had stopped and all that matter was making Nate pay. Seth was always so gentle and never felt malice towards anybody, but now that someone had insulted the love of his life he couldn’t hold back. It was difficult for him to comprehend the corrupt feeling of his rage making it almost impossible for him to clear his own head. The thoughts of hurting someone made him feel sick yet the wolf in him thrived on the thoughts of tearing apart his oldest friend. Suddenly the smell of melon lemon fills his nostrils intoxicating the teenager. A voice of an angel slips through the red in his mind and dances around completely enchanting Seth. As if on command he places Nate down trying to capture the magnificent feeling inside him. He sees nothing only feels like he has to listen to the angle in his head telling him what to do. Then in a blink of an eye he notices he’s back at the Cullen’s house. 


	38. Alone Time!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the couple pretty much bonds and you can get to see how regular members of the tribe react to Seth imprinting on a 'cold one'. You will always learn little facts about Poppy's past.

“You used your powers on me?” Seth asked in astonishment as he sat on the couch gripping his freshly brewed hot chocolate. He felt little, like a pawn in a game bigger than everything around him; just because he was so easy to hypnotize. Despite the shaky feeling in his head, he felt ashamed about losing control on someone who used to be a big part of his life. One of his best friends made him lose control… why was he so quick to react?  
“I didn’t mean that you were easy to get control of… I-I’ve just been using my power along time.” Poppy says trying to ease his mind any way she could. Putting away the last of the groceries she moved swiftly to kneel in front of him. She wanted to see his face and make sure he was alright after what had happened to him. Poppy herself was surprised that she had been able to pull off something as powerful as controlling two people without anyone noticing.   
“What exactly happened?” Seth asked not taking his eyes of the blurriness of the floor. With a sigh Poppy leans back on her legs and runs a hand through the loose strands of her black locks.   
“You just lost control so fast and I needed to stop you before you did something I knew you’d regret. So when you lifted him up off the floor I grabbed ahold of your mind with my voice.” She spat out rapidly. “A-and when I got you to put him down I caught Nate’s sight and made him just leave. Thankfully there was no one around us to see, but I made sure to keep ahold of you until we got home… just in case.” She placed a hand lightly on his knee lovingly, “I’m sorry for using my powers on you, but I didn’t see any other way. We’ve already gone to great lengths to make sure we can stay here in Forks…”   
“I know.” He interrupts, “I get it okay… it’s just a lot to take in right now.” Seth says finally looking at her. “I just can’t believe I was able to snap so fast.” Leaning back he places his cup on the table behind him and stretches his arms. Seizing the opportunity Poppy climbs next to him and snuggles into his side taking in the body heat. “Was I scary?” Seth asked as he wrapped his arm around her.  
“Kind of.” She says as she traces circles on his broad chest over his heart, “Only because I’ve never seen you that mad before… but if I’m being totally honest, I found it kind of cute how you lost control to defend me.” She snickered. With an eyebrow raised he looks down at her to be flashed with her killer smile that made him go weak in the knees.   
“Oh really….” Seth says before he begins to kiss her neck while pulling her closer. As they kissed and rolled around Poppy could feel her body yearn for more. After every kiss she fought the urge to whimper from the loss of contact. The idea of intimacy and sex wasn’t something they as a couple had talked about, which made it sort of uncomfortable for Poppy. Her past as well as the generation she came from all took a toll on how she viewed affection. As Seth began to reach down and caressed her outer thigh she felt a rush of mixed emotions, but the one that stood out was fear. Before she could gather the courage to stop Seth’s hand, he feels her tense up at his kiss. He stops before sighing and collapsing onto her chest, “I don’t want to rush things.” He simply says. Seth knew that if he had mentioned he noticed how uncomfortable she was feeling Poppy would let the guilt eat her alive.   
With a chuckle she sighs in relief and relaxes under Seth’s limp body, “Well are you going to get up?” she asked, but only tiny snores answered. Twirling his short, brown hair Poppy thinks to herself; trying to figure out how she’s going to fix the mess that is her mind.   
*******************************  
The night sky was dark and cold as Poppy sat on the roof, admiring the starry sky. There was always so much going through her head that sometimes even dancing couldn’t help. Being outside in nature was something she enjoyed doing even in her mortal life. Ever since she was a little girl she would find place in trees and flower beds to call her own. What started off as an escape from an evil man became a ritual that could never die. As long as she could see the stars, feel the breeze, and smell the trees she was at peace. “Oh so you’re out here?” Seth’s voice emerges from the window. As a gust of wind rushes past her she turns with it to face her love. Smiling she pats her hand on the place next to her. Slowly he inches out onto the roof taking in her scent that was intoxicating him by the minute; with the breeze flowing intensely around them Seth could smell nothing, but lemons.   
“Isn’t it beautiful out here?” she remarks, tilting her head back as if to welcome the scene before her.   
“Yea it is actually.” Seth answers looking onto the dark horizon lit by a crescent moon, he was almost taken back by the new view he had of the land his family was able to roam. “I’ve never had this view before. It’s much nicer than the mountain on our territory.” He laughs.  
“Really?” Poppy questions, “I wish I could see it from your reservation I bet it looks just the same.”   
“Well can’t you? I mean you’ve been on our land before since you’re not really a cold one. I could take you some time when things settle down again.” Her face instantly lights up at the thought of getting another view of the tree line that fueled her energy, but slowly dimed at the remembrance of the past.   
“Maybe that’s not such a good idea.” Poppy whispers.  
“What? Why not?” He asks almost offended at the rejection of an almost second date.   
“Do you not remember what happened the last time I stepped on your land? I’d rather not cause any more tension to build around you and your family.” Snapping her head to look at him Seth could almost make out the light bulb going off in her head. “Oh right have you talked to your mom?” Seth face softens as he looks off into the distance not really paying attention to the scenery. He hadn’t heard his mother’s voice since before he left Sam’s pack.   
“Uh,” he starts as he squints his eyes in an attempt not to let his emotions shine through, “No I haven’t, but I’m sure she’s fine. Leah’s there and the council is keeping her busy… I’m sure.” Holding her legs to her chest Poppy laid her head down to rest on her knees and stared at Seth with an unconvinced look.   
“Why don’t you go pay your mom a visit tomorrow?” she inquires. Seth begins to open him mouth to retort, but Poppy shushes him with a perfectly manicured finger. Pressing it gently to his lips he stares back her bug eyed, “No Seth you need to go okay.” Taking her finger back she looks out at the horizon, “Even if they’ve told her you’re fine I’m sure she still can’t rest until she actually sees you.”   
Seth keeps his eyes on Poppy as she smiles into the distance and a question comes into mind that he can’t help, but ask. He knew that her past was a touchy subject and that mostly all of her memories were incredibly dark, but still this question kept scratching at his brain. “Pops…?” he starts slowly. She turns to face him and tilts her head to one side cutely, “What was your mom like?” he spits out quietly. By the way her smile fades he can she’s heard him, “I’s okay you don’t have to answer that.” He says looking down at his shaking hands.   
“No it’s fine.” Her voice echoes through his ears as the happiness has returned. He looks up at her to find the beautiful smile back in its place, “My mother was… beautiful.” She begins, “I mean gorgeous she had long, straight, black hair that would curl perfectly at the ends. Ugh and a body that could stop a truck. She always wore simple dress that flared out at the bottom… kind of like Lucy from ‘I Love Lucy’ show.” She explained in excitement. Seth nodded and followed everything she said as if it was the answers to a big test. “When we had a farm she used to always walk around barefoot, but once we got one of those show-house type houses my mother always wore heels.” She snickered as she looked into her thoughts. “They were always the same red heels too.” Laughing out loud Poppy switched from Seth’s eyes to the horizon. “There was this one time when we had barely moved into the nice house that the neighbors came out to meet us and boy did they get a surprise! This ‘dark’ woman shacking it up with a handsome white man… they almost lynched us right then and there. They used to always make fun of her cause she refused to cut her hair since she kept some of our Native American beliefs.” She grabbed most of her hair and stroked it gently, “That’s why she never cut my hair.”   
“Were you guys still connected to your tribe?” Seth asks suddenly. Poppy shakes her head slowly without meeting his eyes.  
“After the war my mother cut all connections with them and we moved around California a lot.” A grim expression made its way on Poppy’s face and Seth knew it was time to stop questioning. He inched closer to her to only brush his shoulder onto hers, making her flinch slightly until she realized it was Seth. With an audible sigh she leaned her head on his shoulder and continued to look up at the night sky. They sit in silence until the obnoxious sound of an engine calls them back into the house.


	39. Another Person's Perception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find about hoe Eleazar and Poppy are connected as well as some more insight on her life with the Volturi. Also the predictable power is revealed... sort of.

With the Denali coven right behind them, Edward and Bella were the first ones home. As they entered the house Edward noticed how tense the Denali’s got at the fresh scent of wolf hit their hypersensitive noses. Looking back at them he smirks slightly making Bella squint her eyes in confusion. Suddenly Reneesme runs upstairs with Jacob following closely behind.   
“Poppy! Poppy!” Reneesme yells with delight as she spots her beloved aunt entwined with herself on the living room floor. As the rest of the guest trail in Poppy finally unfolds her limps before taking Reneesme in her arms.   
“Hey kiddo you’re finally back.” Poppy says rolling around like a little kid as Reneesme squeals with joy. Sitting up together Reneesme places a hand on Poppy’s cheek to express in great detail how their trip went. “Ah what did I say?” Poppy says gently grabbing Nessi’s hand in her own, “Use your words.” That was one of the many things that Poppy wanted to teach her niece. They had barely started before the winter, but Reneesme was coming along… just not liking the talking part one bit.   
“Oh come on,” Jacob says sitting next to Seth on the couch. The boys exchange a ‘dude’ hand shake before their eyes went back to the girls on the floor. “We just got back. Why don’t you ease off the lesson for a little while longer?” he finishes. Exchanging looks from Jacob and Reneesme Poppy finally gives in and engulf her niece in a huge hug.  
“I see you guys didn’t burn the house down.” Edward states as he looks around the house trying to find something wrong.   
“Uhm excuse me I was living on my own for at least a century before I was picked up thank you very much.” Poppy says with a prideful look on her face. The Denali’s stayed staring at the family conversation taking place before them. Carmen and Eleazer were exchanging smiles while Kate and Tanya exchanged looks of confusion. They had never been around Poppy long enough to see how she really was when not phasing. Right now she looked almost like a normal person, if it wasn’t for the accentuated beauty and contortionist moves. They saw a girl who was smiley, goofy, and bright to be around even if she had a weird sense of humor. Almost entirely the monster image they once picture when looking at Poppy was vanishing. Feeling their stares Poppy’s smile begins to fade and is replaced by her regular frown. “I can go to my room if you like or maybe sleep outside? Whatever makes you comfortable.” She says with a monotone voice that is dripping in sarcasm. The two sisters back away slightly in fear of her phasing, but Eleazer stops them.   
“Poppy, don’t be rude. They are here to help us.” Edward starts.   
“It’s alright.” Eleazer says, “We were the rude ones… just starring like that. I apologize for that.” Poppy raises one perfect eyebrow. “You can’t blame us though. We’ve never really been open minded about people that were different.”   
“No I guess I can’t…” Poppy says softening her gaze, “but you must realize that Reneesme and I are more like you then we appear. Besides surely you know better than anyone else that our differences are what make us so intriguing.” As the last word flows through the room, Edward hears Eleazer mentally gasp. With lightning speed he kneeled in front of Poppy, taking in her features as well as her scent to try and match his suspicions.   
“It can’t be.” He whispered in astonishment, “They said you were dead.” The run was filled with confusion as the watched the two former Volturi guard members exchanged looks.   
“Oh so now you remember me?” Poppy says with a smirk.   
“Wait what’s going on?” Seth asked from his seat on the couch.   
“Eleazer used to be one of the Volturi. He and Poppy met there when she was first taken in.” Edward explains. Everyone turns to conform as assumptions build up in theirs, “These two know everything when it comes to the Volturi.” With a hand stretched out he motions for his family to sit so he began their short story.   
“We met only a day or two after I officially left the Volturi’s guard. No one knows this, but it took a great while to get out of their grasp.” Eleazer begins, “There were days where I had to go back to ‘visit’ with Aro on account of his needy-ness. But my last day there I walked in on them training Poppy in the grand room. Normally it’ll take vampires years of their training before they can be seen in the grand room, but with Poppy she was remarkable. A fighter… that took down everyone Aro wanted; it was strange to see how fascinated, frightened, and entranced he was with her. He loved showing her off which is what he did with me when I came in. I’ll never forget how she was able to throw three guards over her head while controlling Felix to dance with a simple hum.” Poppy smiled as she thought about how much trouble she used to cause with her old brothers. With her memory now intact she was able to see everything like a nonstop movie in her head. “We talked for only a minute since Aro wanted me to confirm how powerful she actually was; which was an insane amount that I can still feel now.” He finishes with a smile. The family is in awe once again at Poppy now knowing these little facts about her former vampire life.   
“Why didn’t you recognize her before?” Bella asked. “You guys have met before right?”   
“Well yes, but she’s changed. In little ways like her eyes that used to be blood red are now a striking grey. Her features are a little more prominent and her soul has aged.”   
With a question mark written on her face Bella opens her mouth to speak again, “What do you mean her ‘soul’ has aged? We don’t age at all right?” Edward laughs as do the rest of the vampires in the room.   
“Our bodies don’t age, but our souls do.” Edward explains, “You remember when you told me I, ‘I speak as though I’m from a different time,’?” She nods. “Well that’s what an aged soul is. Our mindset is from a different time so we act different, speak different. Usually it happens after a couple of centuries, but Poppy is always the exception case.” He states; shooting a funny glance at his younger sister.   
“Even though that is true… I kind of resent that statement.” Poppy says getting up to sit on Seth’s lap.   
“It’s incredible how much power this coven holds now.” Eleazer says trying to keep up the conversation. “With Edward, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Carlisle, Poppy, and now Reneesme and Bella… you guys can be unstoppable.” All eyes shoot to him as they rewind the list of names her said.   
“Wait… Bella has a power?” 


	40. Different Powers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The phrases Poppy says to Vladimir and Stefan are Romanian.
> 
> To Vlad she says, "Long time no see" and to Stefan she says, "Hello" then, "How are you"
> 
> Hope you like the it!!!

As the rest of the family came back with more and more vampire friends the house began to grow very lively. The talk about Bella’s powers continued to flow through the air as they remark at how a once mere human gave birth to something as incredible as Reneesme. “So I’m a what?” Bella asked again.   
“You’re a shield, but very different from the others around the world.” Eleazer explains. Bella and Edward listened while watching Reneesme play in the grass with Jacob.   
“How is she different?” Poppy asked. With her legs tangled in a branch above their heads she stayed dangling with her arms crossed. With the constant bother of having ‘people’ always near Poppy felt the need to get away in anyways she could, even if it meant doing the weirdest things.   
“Her powers are more develop when it comes to shielding herself. Without her even thinking about her power she constantly has it on. Most vampires with this gift have to concentrate and willfully activate it.” Poppy observed the grounds as he spoke; it was always odd to see how vampires almost never moved. Even when speaking they remained as still as statues. “Another thing is that Bella can’t shield other people willingly. Usually that’s the first and only thing the others can do, but I’m sure you can develop it… overtime.” Poppy hops down and smiles wide at Bella.  
“Can you imagine if you can grow you’re power? You’ll be like some unstoppable tank; you could be our secret weapon.” Everyone stares at her with a smile as Poppy’s dorky-ness seeped out. Quickly realizing they were on the verge of laughter she cleared her throat and ran a hand through her hair, “I mean if it came to that… you know.”   
Everything was going as smooth as it could be despite Seth’s and Jacob’s dismay for the other vampires. “Why can’t they feed like you, Pops?” Seth questioned as they stared down the room of red eyes.  
“Well I can hypnotize the people to make them forget. You have to remember my powers are extremely rare, almost nonexistent.” She placed her arms over his and began rubbing his arms to try and comfort him. “Also I don’t need to drink the amount that they do. Think of it like this… I’m an omnivore, the Cullens are herbivories, and they’re carnivores. It’s not that we like to hunt humans down, even though some vampires do, it’s just we need human blood in order to survive.” It was awkward having the boys here with all these witnesses coming from different ways of living. Poppy was thankful that the both of them were too busy to stay home most days since more Quileute were being compelled to join the pack.   
“I know.” Seth sighs as he leans into Poppy’s shoulder, “That’s actually a really cool way of thinking about it. It makes you guys sound like dinosaurs.” Seth laughs. That’s the one of the many things Poppy loved about Seth; he always understood and never once considered them monsters despite the scary legends from his tribe. Suddenly the entire house felt an intruder coming at a rapid pace towards the house. Seth, Jacob, and Poppy are the first out the doors to get the now two figures in the trees. They were swift and blended together in the trees sometimes making it seem like they were one person.   
“Opa!” one of them yells as he bounces from tree to tree advoiding the now phased wolves below him. Seeing how the new pair is talented in avoiding from above, Poppy takes to the trees and slowly makes her way over to them. Finally the Cullens along with Eleazer and Kate run into the scene as the intruders sit on a nearby boulder. They laugh and whistle at Seth and Jacob’s form making them deliver small growls.   
“Stefan… Vladimir…” Carlisle says as a greeting, “You’re a long way from home.”   
“What are they doing here?” Kate whispers to Eleazer.   
“We heard the Volturi were moving against you, but that you would not stand alone.” Vladimir, a vampire with paper white skin and hair to match, says. Next to him was Stefan who was a darker with a more plum stature. The sat the same with one leg hoisted up in front of them, their chins up, and one arm resting on their knee.  
“We didn’t do what they are accusing us with.” Carlisle states.  
“We do not care what you did Carlisle.” Vladimir immediately pronounces with an ‘a-matter-of-fact’ tone.  
“We have been waiting a millennium for the Italian scum to be challenged.” Stefan adds. Their hatred for the Volturi coated every word they spoke.   
“We don’t plan to fight the Volturi.” Carlisle argues. “We merely want witnesses to the truth.”   
“Shame,” Vladimir pouts, “Aro’s witness will be so disappointed.” He says as he leans back to look at his friend.   
“They do enjoy a good fight.” Stefan says making the pair laugh and evil smiles grow wider.   
“Aro’s witness?” Eleazer questions as he steps forward. Carlisle, at a loss of words, simply stares at his old friend with sympathy. All of a sudden Poppy falls from the trees and into Vladimir’s arms smoothly.  
“Ahh Vladimir! Nu v-am mai văzut de mult, eh! Bună ziua,Stefan ce mai faceți?” She says smiling at the evil looking pair. They show a somewhat forced smile to her as the Cullens and wolves below share questioning glances.   
“We’ve been as well as can be little one. We see you’ve finally gotten out of the Italians disgusting hands.” Vladimir says holding her at a little of a distance.   
“Poppy?” Carlisle calls, “You know them?" He asks. With an enthusiastic nod she smiles down at the others.   
“We were just about to join you’re fight.” Stefan says to Poppy.   
“Carlisle told you we don’t wish to fight them.” Edwards says.  
“Ohh still hoping they’ll listen? I think you know better than anyone they came for your heads.” Vladimir says with the first frown he’s shown.   
*****  
“How do you even know these crazy guys?” Seth asks as the group gathers in the living room.   
“They’re not crazy okay.” Poppy starts, “They’re just from a different time and full of vengeance since the Volturi has been they’re enemy for a very, very, very long time.” She shakes her fist in the air trying to make Seth laugh, to no avail, “Anyway I met them when Aro had sent me and some other person to see if they were still in their old hide out. Aro has always been paranoid about them in particular since he destroyed their reign, so he knew that if I went to get them I’d be able to survive or even kill them.”   
“But neither were the case since they are standing right in front of us.” Seth says. Poppy turns to see the pair looking at them with their normal evil smirks and smiles.   
“Yea obviously. Well when I went I didn’t have my hood or my crest on at the time, but the guard that was with me did. So they attacked us and killed him, but spared me since I appealed to their better nature.” She says with a wink hinting a secret meaning under everything.  
“So…” Seth whispered extremely softly so they wouldn’t hear, “you hypnotized them?” Poppy answered with a nod and laugh as she tries to divert the Romanian pair from thinking suspiciously. As the rest of the 22 vampires get together in the large room they begin to discuss the situation at hand.   
“When Aro wants someone from a coven it’s never long before evidence turns up proving that coven committed some crime.” Eleazer explains. “It happens so rarely, nobody ever suspects there’s a pattern. Even at that Aro still never stops looking for more power…” he looks down and sighs, “That’s how Jane and Alec were able to stumble upon you, Poppy.”   
“What?” she asks not knowing what else to say, “But Aro didn’t make me…? I was alone for a couple of years before they found me.” She says trying to make sense of everything.   
“Yes, but he had you in his sight for a long time. My job was study you… learn the ways and the powers of the humans he thought were exceptional.” Eleazer admits.   
“His goal isn’t punishment its power.” Carlisle says taking away the light from Poppy. He could sense she was taken aback by the new information about how she was made, but wanted to keep the group focused. “Apparently he always pardons one member of the coven that he claims thoughts are repentant.”  
“This person always has an ability and they’re always given a place in the guard.” Eleazer finishes.   
“This is all about Alice.” Edward says, “He has no one like her.”   
“It’s about you to, Edward.” Poppy interjects, “The mind reader he has is only capable of hearing the people she touches. That’s not going to be enough for a power hungry bastard like Aro.” Bella looks at Edward with worry filled eyes and sighs deeply.  
“So that’s why Alice left.” Bella states in realization.  
“Why does he need witness?” Emmett asks from his corner, “Can’t they just come and kick our asses then go home?” Alistar, a vampire that looked like he hadn’t showered in weeks steps forward and laughs slightly.  
“The witnesses are there to spread the word that justice has been served.” The darkness around his eyes is prominent making him look ill and deprived of the necessities in life. “After he slaughters an entire coven.” The room gasps and looks at their loved ones with concern making the air in the room feel extremely tight.  
Poppy watches as the man named Amun, the leader of a coven in India, huffs and walks towards his coven member Benjamin. “We’re leaving.” He says.   
“And where will you go?” An irritated Edward says. The whole time Amun has been there it has been nothing, but pouting and arguments over how dumb the Cullens were for thinking they could take on the Volturi. “What makes you think they’ll be satisfied with Alice?” Edward continues, “What’s going to stop them from going after Benjamin next? Or Zafrina, or Kate, or anyone else that they want. Acquisition is what they seek and they won’t stop. Carlisle might not ask you to fight, but I will… for the sake of my family, but also for yours. And for the way you want to live.”  
One after the other the packs and every coven stand up to join Edward in fighting if necessary. Everyone was moved by the speech, but also felt that something needed to be done in order to stop the Volturi from taking over. Even though they hoped it wouldn’t come down to a fight everyone showed courage; despite knowing Aro’s army was moving against them. 


	41. A Special One

“Eleazer?” Poppy calls to the elder. After the big speech most of the vampires went to hunt in the next town leaving the vegetarians behind.   
“I’m guessing you want answers.” He says motioning for them to sit back down. Poppy was incredibly confused about the new information. It was as if she had been living a big lie made up by Aro and she kept wondering if she was ever gonna stop being a puppet in his show.   
“Honestly,” she started, “I don’t even know what to ask or where to start.” Eleazer smiles gently at her making Poppy feel more relaxed.   
“How about I tell you everything, and then if you have any question you can ask afterwards.” She nods and waits for him to begin explaining. “There was a time when Aro and I had ventured out to find anyone, vampire or human, with special abilities. After I decided to leave the Volturi, Aro began to grow extremely paranoid about more vampires leaving his side. He was afraid people were going to start turning their backs on the Volturi and eventually rise up against him.”   
“That just sounds like the normal Aro to me.” Poppy interjects making Eleazer chuckle lightly.   
“Well when we ventured out there was no one that caught his eye; since most of the abilities often repeat themselves in people.” Poppy knows all too well that most powers are common since humans often have the same way of acting. Most powers, Carlisle discovered, come from an instinct that is more heightened in their human lives, but gets an extreme boost when the brain is exposed to vampire venom. “It wasn’t until we found ourselves in Germany did we you.” Eleazer says looking Poppy straight in the eye.   
“Me?” she asks.  
“Yes… you. I felt your power as we were flying through the woods near where your circus was set up. Immediately Aro was taken in by you and your…” he paused as he searched for the right word, “Well your everything.” Poppy couldn’t believe how long Aro had been watching her. The show in Germany was the first time the Ringling Brothers had ever performed overseas. That was the first stop in their tour which meant it took Aro years to make his move on her.   
“Why didn’t he take me then? Why did he let a good-for-nothing vampire ruin my life instead of him?” Poppy asked as she starred at her hands while fiddling her fingers.   
“Aro wanted to change you right then and there, but things changed after we saw you perform.” Caught off guard, Poppy glances up at Eleazer face.   
“How so?” he huffs and straightens the concern out of his expression.   
“Somehow…” he paused. There was a look on his face that made Poppy feel strange. It was as if he didn’t know how to explain himself. “When you performed… the power I felt inside of you changed into something else. It was something I had never felt or seen before. Once I told Aro he immediately held himself back from changing you and decided to watch how your life played out.”   
“Wait what? How is that even possible? L-like… tha-t doesn’t even happen! That makes absolutely no sense!” Poppy screams making Eleazer flinch in pain. “Sorry…” she says trying to calm herself down. Taking deep breaths she tried to calm herself and her powers down in order to not hurt her relative. “Well what was it that made me change? Do you know?”   
“At that time, no I didn’t know what you were. Once I searched through the legends in Aro’s archives did I finally get an idea of what you were… or are.” Poppy swirled her hands out in front of her to indicate that she wanted him to go on. Laughing Eleazer gets up while taking Poppy’s semi-warm hand. “I think it would be better for you to see it yourself.” They made their way to Cullen’s library near Carlisle study and looked and looked and looked until Eleazer found the correct one. It was a huge leather bound book covered in old soot with the spine looking as though it was about to fall apart.   
As Eleazer flips through the book Carlisle walks in and greets Poppy with a smile. He leaned against one of the many beams holding the room up while continuously reassuring his youngest with his eyes. Poppy felt more at ease with her father there since her nerves felt uncontrollable after hearing she might be something different. “Finally,” Eleazer says as he smooths out two pages in front of him. Looking down at the page Poppy notices some of the Latin is underlined, there’s a big water mark on the ends, and the corner has an indention as if it had been book marked. “Oh looks like someone had been studying this page.” The pair looks at Carlisle as his smile fades, “Carlisle… so you knew this whole time?” Eleazer asks.   
“I had a feeling it was this, but I never was sure.” He says. Moving her cousin out of the way Poppy starts to read the Latin filled page and still nothing helps her confused state go away. She slumps in a chair, feeling defeated while looking at her father and cousin.   
“So what the hell does this mean? I can’t be this, magnifier… I have my own powers.” She says.   
“Poppy you are something so incredibly powerful that it only comes once a millennium.” Eleazer says. “You can make other vampires power grow or fade while still maintaining your own. Aro knew that you were something special which is why he waited so long to get you. He wanted to change you himself, but when you left the circus there was no way he could find you that easily.”   
“Okay… that makes sense, but if he knew I was this magnifier why didn’t he help me tap into it more? Or why didn’t he come after me that night when I left? He could’ve stopped me from becoming this monster…” Poppy’s head is jumbled with emotions and questions for Aro, but she knew she’d never be able to ask him directly.   
“You’re not a monster Poppy.” Carlisle says as he sits down in front of her. He takes her hand reassuringly, “You are special, but what you didn’t seem to read is that a magnifier’s power is only activated when they find their true mate. Aro possibly knew that you were never gonna find your mate stuck in the Volturi tower or glued to Alec. He didn’t come after you so that you could find your true mate… I’m sure he didn’t know you’d be attack by a child of the moon.” With Carlisle’s words of wisdom hitting her like a ton of brick she felt slightly relieved. It was like now everything concerning her powers or the Volturi was answered; or most of the questions. There was no doubt that she had a million questions about herself and Aro, but for now she was content with everything. The most relief came from the fact that she had now found her true mate; her soulmate. Seth was the key to unlocking her most powerful self as well as revealing that she wasn’t a monster, but a special one. 


	42. First Christmas

Training… training… training was all that was taking place at the Cullen residence. Everyone took it upon themselves to sharpen and share any skills they had. Most of the time it was Bella trying her hardest to shield someone else or Poppy trying to tap into her unused power, “How can I use a power I’ve never even felt before?” the hybrid sighs as she bends down to rest her upper body. With her tank half full she began to feel a bit run down.   
“You must’ve used it before… even if it was on accident.” Carlisle says. Most of the Cullen family were outside helping both girls in any way possible. Bella’s training was going great with her being able to shield at least a meter away from herself. The main focus now was to try and help Poppy magnify someone else’s powers rather than her own.   
“Has that ever happened before?” Eleazer ask while he makes his way to the training grounds. “Has something ever happen with your powers or someone else’s that you couldn’t explain?”  
“Well there was that one time with Bella, but we all haven’t put much thought into what happened.” Poppy sighs in remembrance of that dreaded day. Recalling how scared and angry she was at Bella for tossing Seth around like some rag doll.   
“Why don’t you try tapping into the emotions you were feeling then?” Carlisle moves closer to pick up her shoulders so that he can look her in the eyes. “You were scared that something might’ve happened to Seth. Also angry that Bella had the audacity to even touch him; those heighten emotions should be able to help.” Feeling extremely stressed Poppy nodded unenthusiastically and replayed what had happened that day.   
Motioning for Bella to use her power, Carlisle steps back as he sees the anger and restlessness fill Poppy’s face. She huffs like a bull ready to charge when she opens her eyes and looks at Bella, who looks past everyone to focus on Edward a couple of feet away. The elders watch as Poppy’s eyes focus on Bella with so much emotion that steam is practically flying off her. Both girls sigh to indicate that they’ve taken back their strengths when Edward sprints to them, “It worked.” He exclaimed, “I couldn’t read anyone’s thoughts… it was so quiet.” Poppy’s face brightens up as she high-fives Bella. Finally they had done it.   
“Emotion is what fuels you.” Eleazer says, “The more control you have over your emotions the better you can control your powers. You must remember that.” Packing it in for the day, the group heads back to the house in no rush at all. Carlisle slowly makes his way to Poppy’s side as she plays with the snow.   
“Have you fed?” he abruptly asks.   
“Yea… kind of,” Poppy answers not to concern about her father’s worry. “I was interrupted the day I went, so I didn’t exactly get full.” She stands up and brushes the access snow off her black jeans, “But I feel fine.”   
“Fine isn’t going to be good enough if there is a fight.” Carlisle states with a stern look gracing his well-preserved face.  
“Weren’t you the one that was adamant about not calling this a fight?” They begin walking back slowly. Poppy taking in the beautiful semi-white scenery; Carlisle taking in the prominent tired look on his daughter’s face, a beautiful scene not often captured between father and daughter.   
“Poppy… now Aro knows you’re here. We have to be prepared for anything; especially you. Now we only have two days before the snow begins to stick. I don’t care where you go to do it, but you must feed.” Before she can open her mouth to retaliate Carlisle disappears into the house. The only reason Poppy didn’t want to feed was the fact that she would have to explain to Seth where she was going. The young couple hadn’t had a real talk about her feeding habits and she still felt slightly embarrassed. After a long thought process she decides to wing it, since she couldn’t disobey Carlisle.   
Hoping from the patio to the roof she slides in to the tiny window above her day bed and crawls over a sleeping Seth as quietly as possible. The day was coming to an end which meant she could be freer than the last time. Feeding behind a dumpster was not her cup of tea, but in a dark car or park would be fine. As she tries to slowly change a sudden cough pulls her out of focus, “Where are you going?” Seth asks suspiciously.   
“I have to have a proper…feeding.” She says giving up all too easily. Picking up her shoes she sits next to him on the bed. “I was hoping you would stay asleep long enough for me to get the heck out of here.” She smiles awkwardly.   
“You don’t have to be ashamed of that Poppy.” Seth says as he rubs soothing circles on her back. He felt her tense before relaxing entirely to the softness of his touch. “It’s not like you can help the fact that you need human blood. If you were killing people then maybe I’d have a little problem, but I am perfectly fine with you feeding in your normal ways. I would just like for you to stop keeping things from me.” He studies her worried profile as she continues to stare at the floor boards. Her half-assed pony tail with strands of her jet black hair sticking out made her look so elegant; like from a different time. Her furrowed brows and pursed, voluptuous lips told her age, her true thoughts. Seth could never take his eyes off her, but for some reason he was always taken aback by how beautiful she was. No other women could compare to his Poppy and the way she exuded magnificence. With how much love he had for her there was no way he could hate her for being anything less than a vampire. She was a half-breed… a hybrid, for him it was no surprise that she needed to use those striking fangs.   
With a huff Poppy ruffles her loose bangs and looks over to Seth, “So do you really need an explanation now or…” They both chuckle before bringing their feet up on the bed. Crossing their legs the young couple sits in front of each other with goofy grins on their faces.  
“I think you explaining things more would be a little helpful.” Seth admits. Nodding Poppy complies as she spills everything she thinks the love of her life should know. Before long they move onto other subjects like her past, her powers and even at the end of her monologue, Seth is still smiling. Not taken aback by anything she’s saying which is a complete first in her long years of walking this earth. “Well…” he begins, “You’re still one complex can of pop aren’t you?” he says making Poppy smile.   
“Gosh will you ever stop referring to me as soda?” She teases.   
“Probably not.” He admits, “Your name is as unique as you are and deserves to be celebrated.” Seth jokes. A moment like this is what made everything clear to Poppy. Sometimes it felt like their relationship was the universe making a cruel joke, but at times like this… where they talked, listened, and laughed; without even touching each other was something that meant the world to her. To think that a young couple like Seth and Poppy could connect this way is unheard of in the mortal world. Both were lucky to have found each other so early even if it was an honest accident.  
*******  
The next two days went by in a flash with everyone training and spending time with their love ones. Coincidently the day before the Volturi were planning on coming was the mortal holiday of Christmas, which stirred up the Cullen household for a moment.   
“What do you mean you don’t celebrate Christmas?” Seth exclaimed from the kitchen. It was so early in the morning that not even the sun had risen yet, but in a house full of vampires no one took any notice. Poppy sat on a stool shoving freshly cut lettuce in her mouth to avoid answering Seth’s antics. “Aren’t you guys supposed to be like this incredibly close family? What family doesn’t celebrate Christmas?!”   
“Need I remind you that this is a vampire household?” Emmett chimes in from the couch.   
“Yea it kind of gets old after a couple of centuries. Holidays and birthdays are not so fun when you’ve literally seen it in every new age.” Jasper laughs. Seth ignores the men on the couch and kneels besides Poppy in a begging manner.   
“Why don’t you just come and celebrate with me and my family? We’re all going to Charlies since him and my mother are a thing now.” He says nonchalantly. Poppy sighs and gently lifts her lover up to a standing position before making him sit in the stool next to her.   
“Look I just don’t want to intrude on your family’s way of doing things. Besides I’ve never celebrated Christmas before and I…” she sighs, “I wouldn’t know what to do.”   
“Come on Pops… you wouldn’t be intruding on anything! You’re my life now which means I can only celebrate with you there.” Pulling out the puppy dog eyes Seth leans into Poppy and starts to whimper. After several minutes of whimpering Poppy lets out a huge sigh making her bangs shake vigorously.  
“Fine! I will go,” immediately Seth jumps up in happiness, “but if Leah asks you have to tell her you dragged me there. I already know she’s gonna throw a fit about me and I honestly don’t want to deal with that right now.”   
“Don’t worry she won’t say anything if my mom’s there.” He states with a smile.   
As the time gets closer to head to Charlie’s house Poppy grows weary of her decision to give in. It would be an understatement to say she was scared; after all this would be her first holiday with Seth’s family and Bella’s which was odd enough. She was so anxious, in fact, that she switched outfits five times before settling on a dress that was a little too formal for Seth’s taste… so he made her change again. “It’s just the now four member of my family, Poppy. Casual is the safer bet since I know how you get when you stick out a lot more than usual.” He said trying to calm her down. The whole ride over Poppy couldn’t help, but pick and fidget with herself, “You’ll be fine.” Seth continuously whispered to get her to calm down.   
“I’ve never seen her this scared before.” Jacob comments with a smirk.   
“Fuck off.” Poppy responses.  
“Language!” Edward declares as he looks through the rearview mirror.  
“Sorry grandpa.” Poppy says making the whole car giggle.   
Finally getting there Poppy hops out of the car and doesn’t move. She looks down and inspects her black pants and white shoes for any imperfections. Pulling on the ends of her grey and white button up she makes sure that only a little bit is peaking out underneath her oversized dark grey sweater. Folding the sleeves up to expose her wrists and pulling her beanie down slightly she fixes minor details before taking a deep breath. “Okay I can do this.” She says to herself. Seth smiles at how much effort the love of his life is putting in and walks up to her. He moves a strand of hair away from her eyes and softly combs her hair that she decided to keep down and natural.   
“You look beautiful as always, Pops. Are you ready?” he offers his arm for her to take. With one more sigh and a smile she takes his arm gladly. Walking side by side they follow their family into the house for Poppy’s first Christmas. 


	43. Vintage Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I did it!!!!!!!!!!

“Merry Christmas!” Sue yelled as the group walked in. The happy mother was occupied with Reneesme until she saw Poppy hanging off Seth’s arm. Practically leaping into the air she scurried over to greet her son and his mate. “Poppy! I’m so happy to see you! It’s been so long hasn’t it?” Sue exclaimed as she tore Poppy away from Seth to envelop her in a huge hug. Smiling Poppy hugged back with enthusiasm as to not hurt Sue’s feelings, but she couldn’t help feeling a little out of place. This would be her first Christmas in… really ever.   
After greeting everyone the family all sat in the living room while Sue served plates of food very strategically. Poppy watched how Edward faked eating and tried to teach Bella who eventually just gave up entirely. Jacob and Leah scarfed down their food and were up for seconds in minutes of finishing. Seth ate with the same intensity, but was somewhat preoccupied with daring Poppy to eat certain foods.   
“Take a bite of this.” He challenged holding up a piece of macaroni.   
“What if die… or puke everywhere?” Poppy whispered pushing away his fork.   
“I promise I will clean up the mess. Now just humor me for a second and eat it.” Seth said pushing the fork closer to Poppy faces. Hesitantly she sniffed it before sticking her tongue out to lick it, “Oh come on! Just take a bite.” Seth urged on while demonstrating cutely how to take a bite. With a huff Poppy sniffed again to smell the cheese and pasta mixed together on a fork. Her taste buds weren’t reacting as strong as they could, but something was happening in her mouth. She couldn’t tell if they were repulsed or intrigued by the four cheese blend macaroni. Slowly opening her mouth she slides the fork past her teeth and takes her first bite of mac ‘n’ cheese.   
“Well…” Jacob, whose been watching since the beginning, asks. Everyone besides Charlie stared in anticipation. Poppy chewed and chewed before swallowing the human food.   
“It’s not bad enough to be horrible, but it isn’t good enough to be great.” She announces. Tilting her head she scrunched up her face, “Did that make sense.”   
“Why do you guys care so much about what she eats?” Charlie asks as he cuts up the piece of ham on his plate. “Let the girl eat in piece.” Seth chuckles before offering Poppy more mac ’n’ cheese, which she refuses due to her appetite being rather none existent. Since she hadn’t had a proper feeding her body was only craving human blood instead of human food. “So Poppy…” Charlie starts, “Do you go to school with Seth or with Bella?” he asks trying to make conversation.   
“Oh actually I don’t attend school.” Poppy says nonchalantly. Charlie looks up in surprise with furrowed brows. As his cop like gaze sets in Poppy feels a twist in her stomach and the heat radiating in her cheeks before she feels Seth’s hand on her thigh.  
“Yea Pops is a genius that finished school early.” Seth chimes in with a smile. “She has a PhD in medicine and a couple of other degrees under her belt.” He brags.   
“Wow what an accomplished young women.” Sue says smiling from ear to ear. Charlie agrees, but is too curious to hold his questions in.  
“So you must be Carlisle’s favorite then. Do you work with him at the hospital?” he asks.  
“No sir, people aren’t too keen to let a teenager operate in a hospital. Carlisle tends to like me better as his little daughter anyways.” Poppy answers.   
“Well maybe you can be my doctor?” Charlie offers as he picks up a piece of ham, “I’m getting older by the minute and I hate hospitals.” He returns Poppy’s smile, “So how is your Christmas over at your house?” he asks to both Edward and Poppy. The siblings look at each other in a panic when Edward focuses on Poppy thoughts, ’You answer first!’ she thinks. It wasn’t like it was a big vampire secret what they did in their house for the holidays, but the house was very complicated right now. Since the normal celebrations were to do nothing, Edward didn’t see any problem with saying the regular truth.   
“We don’t really celebrate Christmas.” Edward says.   
“Really?” Charlie asks in very surprised manner, “Hopefully were not offending you by having you here.”  
“Oh no, “Poppy chimes in, “It’s nothing like that. We’re just usually really busy during this time.”   
“Ah I see, well it’s good to have you both here then. Wait… is this your first Christmas?” Sue shoots Charlie a look before he shrugs since he was merely curious.   
“Well for Edward no, but this is my first Christmas.” Poppy says shyly. She didn’t want to make it a big deal, but she knew how much holidays like these mattered to normal human families.   
“Gosh she sounds more like a freak all the time.” Leah comments under her breath. Immediately Sue shushes her, but the atmosphere is already tarnished. Suddenly Poppy’s chest began to feel tight, her palms started to get clammy and her abnormal heart was beating like a drum. She wanted to just get up and walk out of the room, but she knew it would make everyone feel awkward. Even with Seth’s comforting hand on her, she couldn’t shake the feelings of a panic attack from her nerves. Staying still is what she decided to do… she stayed still, away from the conversation in order to keep her voice from being heard.  
Poppy thought of nothing, but the sky, the forest outside, the snow. The soft wet grass that could always comfort her, the grey sky that met her dark soul’s needs, and the humongous tree blocking all sunlight. The atmosphere in the house was stale so thinking of the clear outside nature made Poppy slightly calmer. Her first Christmas ever would be another memory she would try to forget.   
“Okay present time!” Charlie announces as they pick up the used dishes. “Seth, Leah stop eating and grab a gift.” Jacob and Bella are the ones who make their moves first to hand Reneesme and Charlie their gifts. Discreetly Seth made his way towards the festive tree to get the present he’d been preparing for Poppy. With her training like crazy with her family, Seth was able to do everything as inconspicuously as possible. The multiple part gift will hopefully be the high light of this day for his one true love.   
“Uhm Poppy.” He says after clearing his throat to get her attention. Her vacant face turns into her signature radiant smile as she looks at him. “This,” he starts while handing her a medium sized, purple box, “Is for you, Merry Christmas.”   
“But I didn’t get anything for you in return!” Poppy exclaims as she pouts.   
“You didn’t have to get me anything. Your smile alone is a worthy enough gift for me.” He says while rubbing her beanie cover head, which earns a gaging sound from Leah. Poppy begins to inspect the box, savoring the bow and popping the lid up slowly she fills the room with anticipation. As she sets the purple lid down the first thing she notices is there is more than one gift.   
“I feel like a bad person since I didn’t get you anything!” She makes conversation to save time for examining the contents of the box. The first gift she noticed was a book she was dying to get her hands on for centuries written in its own text. “Oh my gosh, The Analects!? Where did you find this… most of them are lost in translation and they don’t even print copies of this in Chinese anymore!?” She exclaims as she flips through the book filled with Chinese characters.  
“What the hell are the Analects?” Jacob asks.   
“It’s a collection of sayings from this Chinese philosopher named Confucius who was around during the Tang dynasty. The year I was taking a theology class I heard the name of the book and some of the ideas, but I never actually got to read it.” Poppy explains. “How did you find it in Chinese?”   
“A lot of researching and phone calls. This book is from Carlisle and I since he helped me a lot with everything.” Seth says.  
“You can read Chinese?” Bella asks.  
“I can read in a lot of languages.” Poppy answers nonchalantly.   
“Keep going though.” Seth says getting her attention away from the book. “There is more.” Poppy puts the books down gently before pushing a calming breath out and goes to see the next gift. It was a pair of black pointe shoes that were newly made and in perfect condition to break in.   
“Wow they’re gorgeous and in my favorite color!” She yells while looking at every edge of the shoe.  
“Yea I know how you always wanted black ones and how disappointed you were when you ruined a pair trying to spray them black. So I called the new place that makes your shoes and told them you preferred them in black, which by the way, they were more than happy to oblige since they sometime lose track of your custom shoes with their regular orders.” Poppy looked at Seth with loving eyes remembering the night she almost cried over losing a pair, which she though he had been too sleepy to witness. Putting them down she thought it was over, but a small velvet box underneath the light purple confetti caught her eye. She picked it up and looked at Seth again.  
“What is it?” she asked. He takes a deep breath and gently takes the box from her.   
“You know how much I love you right?” he asks. Poppy nods slowly, but feels the tension in her heart build up a little. “So I got you something to show my promise to you. Loving you for all eternity and even after that… forever with you is my promise.” He opens the box to show a vintage opal ring, with tiny flowers around the sides and a rose gold band. Poppy fights back the urge to cry since she doesn’t want to scare Charlie with her blood tears, but she’s speechless. Bella moves the purple box from Poppy’s lap while Seth takes the ring from its velvet casing. Taking Poppy’s olive hand in his he gently places it on her ring finger. “It was my grandmothers and my mothers. Now it’s yours.” Seth says. Poppy looks at Sue whose smile never faltered the entire time; she let out a tear as she gave her son away.   
“Welcome to the family!” Sue yells before prancing over to hug Poppy. She squeezes tight and whispers, “I know you can take care of him.” Poppy nods and falls on Seth’s lap while the whole living room erupts with cheers and claps. Charlie claps, but is a little weirded out and as Sue comes back to his side he whispers to her, “Did your 17 year old just propose to his 16 year old girlfriend?”   
“I guess you could say that, but you have to remember we’re different from everyone else.” She says before kissing his cheek.  
He grabs his beer and takes a swig before scuffing, “You got that right.” He sighs, “This family just gets weirder and weirder.” 


	44. First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rated R kind of… this chapter had been eating away at my soul because it was so hard to write, but hopefully it came out good. Please let me know if you guys like it and also let me know if you want me to do a sequel or a prequel because I’ve been tossing those ideas around in my head okay bye!

Twirling the ring in her hand, Poppy sits on the roof waiting for the sun to go down. After the Christmas they’d just gotten back from the rest of the crew began to talk strategy. Since it was the last day to prepare everyone wanted to put in one last huff to make sure they were ready for anything. Poppy needed a break from the excitement that flooded the house; especially after experiencing her own excitement a couple of hours before. A formal promise… something that Poppy never thought would come from Seth or anybody.   
“Pops?” Seth calls from the window, interrupting Poppy’s thoughts. Sticking his head out he smiles as he sees Poppy glowing in the leftover sunlight, “Everyone’s getting ready to go out to the field… did you want to go along with them?” Hesitating to answer she slides the ring on her finger and crosses her arms tightly.   
“Ehh, I don’t know. Leaving this early might turn me into a mess.” Standing up she makes her way to the window and jumps back into her room. “You can go if you want, but I’ll probably wait till the morning.” She wraps her arms around his neck while studying his face for the millionth time. With their deaths feeling so close Poppy wanted to look, hear, and feel him for as long as she could. He smiles sweetly and kisses her forehead before wrapping his arms around her waist.   
“Well if you’re not going I don’t want to go either. I want to spend every minute with you.” He says which melts Poppy’s heart. Both of them were scared, but wouldn’t admit it; only admitting to the fact that they wanted to spend their, possibly, last night together.   
As the sun is replaced by the moon Carlisle gathered everyone in the living room, “Well it seems that time has come. Now we don’t know the exact time the Volturi may come, but I suspect it won’t be till the sun is out, so I suggest we go out there now to get familiar with the field. If you wish to stay here for the time being do as you wish.” With nods from most of the covens Carlisle turns to look at Poppy and Seth who stood behind him. “Are you guys leaving now as well?” he asks.  
“Uhm no, Seth and I want to stay here. We’ll get there before the sun is out though.” Poppy answers her father. Carlisle nods and smiles before bringing his hand up to caress her cheek softly.   
“You still haven’t had a proper feeding.” He says noticing her eyes a deep brown.   
“I’ll be fine.” Poppy moves his hand away gently and shifts her eyes from Seth to the floor. She felt well enough to go with them tomorrow morning, but her hunger wasn’t quite satisfied with the tiny fill she had. The fact of the matter is that her and Seth had yet to have a discussion on her feeding habits. Problems had been coming out of nowhere, which left the young couple with little time to talk. Without making a fuss Carlisle turns to follow the crowd out the door, leaving the young couple alone in the Cullen house. “Are you hungry?” Poppy asks Seth after taking a deep breath of fresh air. The room had been so crowded with everyone there; she felt liberated seeing the room empty. She makes her way around the small island to the refrigerator and rummages through the drawers, “I can make you something if you’d like.”  
“No I’m fine, but…” Seth hesitates as he tries to find the words. He wasn’t deaf or blind to the fact that Poppy still hadn’t had a proper feeding in the weeks it took to prepare for the Volturi’s coming. “I know that you are.” Closing the fridge slowly Poppy sighs and prepares herself for the conversation.  
“I am what exactly?” she asks trying to avoid the straightforwardness of Seth’s question.   
“Oh come on Pops. I know you haven’t fed since I followed you that day and that wasn’t even a full feeding.” He leans his elbows on the island that separates the two lovers and runs a hand through his hair. Poppy watches and notices how aged he looked in that one motion, how much he grew in mentality showed so much now that things were quiet.   
“Seth I’m fine I promise. If I needed to feed that much you would be able tell right away.” She states trying to sound reassuring.   
“But I can tell. To other people there are minor changes, but to me and Carlisle they’re so drastic it’s almost scary.” He looks up to meet her eyes then down again like he’s trying to hide some secret. “You need to feed and it’s too late for you to go somewhere…” pushing himself off the counter he strides over to her with a purpose. His posture is strong and confident, but still timid since what he’s about to offer may be something neither of them were expecting. “Why don’t you try me?” he asks suddenly.   
“What?” Poppy shrieks in shock. Shaking her head with a disgruntled look on her face she takes a step back away from Seth, “No I-I can’t do that. I can’t do that to you… I never wanted you to see me like that. Ever…”   
“Why not?!” Seth exclaims. “Poppy I love you no matter what which means I’ll do whatever it takes to make you safe. Now tomorrow is one of the most dangerous things were getting ourselves into,” he takes her by the shoulders in a firm grip and looks her deep in the eye, “And if I let you go out there the way you are now,” he scoffs. “I might as be handing you to the grim reaper myself.” All his emotion flooded his eyes like rain and washed away Poppy’s insecurities. This was something she never wanted to do to someone she loved. For so long feeding was to be done on humans that she had no connection with, that way she could break away easier. Now with their bond and love so strong Poppy was afraid of losing control with Seth’s life in her hands.   
Without getting an answer Seth took Poppy by the wrist and pulled her upstairs to her room. Privacy was something they had plenty of tonight, but he thought it would make things a little more comfortable. He would be lying if Seth said he wasn’t a tiny bit scared, although he trusted Poppy and just needed to make sure she was okay for tomorrow. And if this did work out Seth had an excuse to keep her near him always instead of sneaking around.   
“Seth… I’ve never done it like this. I-I don’t know what to do.” Poppy whimpers softly as she sits down on the bed.   
“Shhhhushhh,” Seth says sweetly as he quickly makes his way to her side. He caresses her face in-between his hands and continues to deliver sweet coos to ease her nerves. “This is gonna be my first time too okay. Just take what you need, my love.” He whispers before delivering a sweet kiss.   
After taking a deep breath he pulls off his shirt to expose his naked chest and shoulders. Not knowing the proper protocol he winged it to give her better access to the part she normally bit. With shaking hands Poppy slowly took his cheek in hand and gently moved it away. Closing her eyes she opened her mouth slightly, to expose her fangs, and then bit down on the nape of his neck.   
Seth gasps audibly as he felt her hot canines sink into him, but soon was overcome with an incredible amount of desire. The area she was feeding on felt like an intense patch of endorphins that were spreading all across his body. Overwhelmed with pleasure he closed his eyes tightly and moaned sweetly before grabbing Poppy’s body. He stroked her hair and backside until finally moving her to sit on his lap so that he could feel every inch of her. Seth was blinded by the endorphins he was feeling from Poppy which caused his animal instincts to take hold and control him. He thought of nothing, but her.  
It was even more intense for Poppy with Seth touching her everywhere and his blood tasting like liquid fire she was in heaven. The intense taste of his blood clouded her taste buds as it made her heart slow down. Seth’s manly hands caressing her softly, but with so much passion made her heart pick up again. It was a constant dance between the two making her dizzy with desire. Suddenly a moan from Seth catches her by surprise. He moans and moans until she pulls away slowly as she has finally had her fill. Seth is breathing heavily as Poppy faces him with her grey eyes appearing after the blood red leaves them like a mist.   
Without thinking he bites his lip seductively before bringing her lips down to kiss; so much passion is filled in those few moments that both forget where they are. Seth flips their positions and continues to caresses Poppy’s body with his hands and lips. They pull and tug at each other’s clothes until the two virgins are touching skin to skin. Neither scared nor embarrassed anymore… only eager and filled with desire to please one another. The young couple have endured so much at the hands of other people that it is almost a blessing for them to be here. With death feeling so close this last gesture of their love for each other is all that matters. Being each other’s first as well comes with such honor that just being able to hold their loved one in their purest form is enough. There are no distractions, no stress, nobody else, but them and their love for each other.   
As the night gets darker Poppy lays there entwined in her lavender covers; Seth sound asleep on her chest with a peaceful look graced on his face. She can’t help, but smile as he hugs her tightly like she might fly away from him at any moment. Curling a strand of his hair around her index finger she sighs in contentment feeling like she finally has something to fight for. Before Poppy was set on living out her days alone in no hope of finding anyone, but like an angels sent from the sky Seth has graced her life. She would do anything for him, be anything for him and vice versa. After all the bad luck that clouded her life Poppy has finally found love; and she was determined to keep him safe. 


	45. All Too Real

A light, greyish fog lifts itself as Poppy stares into the brightness of the sunless sky. The battle field is covered in snow with hints of green, emeralds, and moss colors peeking out. Poppy stands in the middle of Edward and Carlisle with Seth, in his now bigger wolf form, by her side. Aro with an astonished look graced on his face announces that Reneesme is truly a half breed. Poppy keeps herself calm while faced with the sadistic creeps that took her life away. Seth brushes up against her, as the Volturi continue to debate on the issue at hand, and whimpers only softly enough for her to hear. Bringing her hand up she scratches his head lovingly as another goodbye. Suddenly a sharp pain in her abnormal heart echoes throughout her body and the cries of her mother Esme ring in her ears. ‘Someone you love has died ’her body tells her; looking forward she sees Carlisle’s head in Aro’s arms while Caius sets his body on fire. With growls heard, the Cullens and their remaining friends launch forward ready to tear the Volturi apart. Poppy’s vision is tinted red as the pain from losing family clouds her judgment. Tearing guard members apart she attacks with no remorse and excellent strategy. During her fight she feels the echo ripple twice, ‘Two more loved ones have died.’ Her body says. She cries as she rips apart a Volturi witness throwing her body immediately into the fire. Unexpectedly a sharp pain is felt in her head and chest… then the howling of a familiar grey wolf. Following her fast feet, Poppy continues to tear apart guards as she looks for the body she’s dreading to find. Finally she sees the sandy brown fur ball lying on the ground taking rapid breaths. She falls to her knees in front of his eyes and delivers soothing coos, “I can fix you. Just hang on Seth! Do you hear me hang on!” Before she can find the problem she hears his last breath and sees his beautiful brown eyes close. “No…” she whispers. “No…!” she yells. She cries out to the heavens before her breathing begins to become erratic. With the love her life lying dead in her hands she lets out a scream so coated with power it kills half the Volturi guards in seconds. Standing up she feels the fur on the back of her hand appear, her nails turn black as they grow longer, and her canine teeth elongate themselves. The Volturi watches in horror as they see Poppy’s, once red eyes turn bright silver with just one blink. With a leap she takes down the muscle that wrapped its fatal arm around Seth’s neck. Felix throws her away with ample force making her body bounce a couple times before she finds her footing. She crouches and runs on all fours before leaping again with her claws bared. He moves slightly late letting her claws miss his head, but take his brick arm off. Throwing it into the fire she looks back at Felix with a sinister grin as he begins to circle her. Suddenly Poppy sees Emmett running up to them and lands a kick to the giants back. He falls into a flip before landing back on his two feet; now the siblings are circling him with the intent to tear him apart. All at once the siblings sprint towards him and tackle him to the ground. Even with one hand Felix is strong enough to keep both of them away until Emmett takes the arm smoothly and rips it apart. With a yell Felix feels the pain of losing both arms, but is silenced by Poppy’s claws digging into his scalp. She goes slow making sure he feels every bit of pain so that he can feel only a taste of what he’s done to her. As her hands go deep into his head she finally pulls the sides apart ripping his stone like body in half.   
Unexpectedly Poppy shoots up in her bed sweating bullets and bearing her canine teeth. “What the hell?” she exclaims. She looks around rapidly to see her walls, her floor, her room. “What the hell was that?” She asks. Looking outside her window to see the dark night sky Poppy feels her canine teeth retreat back into her mouth.   
“Oh you’re awake!” Seth says as he enters the room with nothing, but shorts on. “I was just about to wake you. How did you sleep?” he asks sweetly. He sits on the edge of the bed and gives Poppy a small kiss.   
“I slept?” Poppy asks with a questioning gaze. “Like fully slept with eyes closed and stuff?”  
“Uh yea…” Seth says slowly before he turns his head to the side cutely, “Are you okay, Pops?”   
“But vampires don’t sleep. I’ve never slept before… well unless I knock myself out, but that’s not the point!” Poppy shouts trying to make sense of everything she’s saying. “All these years I’ve never slept and then now I sleep… and dream! What is this! Are you sure?” she screams while pointing a finger at Seth.  
“Yes you were completely out when I woke up. So I’m guessing you did dream.” He takes her finger and spreads out her hand to only kiss the top. With a sigh of relief she pushes the covers away and embraces Seth. Poppy squeezes and squeezes thanking the gods that the dream wasn’t real; she would’ve never been able to live without Seth. “Woah remember you have to be careful not crush me.” Seth jokes as she keeps tightening her hold. As he returns her hug Seth rubs her bare back and takes a small sniff of her lemon smelling hair. Pulling her face away from his neck she delivers a huge, passionate kiss to his lips before taking him down into the covers once again. They share each other’s bodies for the second time.  
Hesitant to leave their bubble they slowly dress before making their ways to the field. On the way over they entwine fingers and Poppy shares her odd dream, “And then I woke up. It didn’t even fade to black or anything I just shot up in bed. Isn’t that weird?” Poppy explains.  
“It’s weird that you slept at all let alone dreamed. But at least it was a dream and not reality.” They swing their arms as the walk up the steep hill that eventually leads to the field. They see everyone there talking by a fire and a small tent, which they assume is Reneesme’s.   
“That’s true.” Poppy says continuing their conversation, “I wouldn’t know what to do if I lost you.” She turns to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, “I’d probably die if you were no longer here.” With a sweet smile he kisses her forehead as he wraps his arms around her waist. They stay like that for some time… just swaying closely to feel each other’s body temperature for as long as possible.  
As the sun began to peek through the mountains and trees the couple is called apart to their different species. Seth with the wolves and Poppy with the vampires; a forbidden love that everyone thought never had a chance, but has lasted to what they think might be the end. Both groups plan alone before coming together to converse any type of plan which seems to be nothing.   
“We cannot have plans to attack since Aro will most likely want to see all of our minds.” Carlisle clarifies, “If he sees even the hint of wanting to fight he’ll mostly likely attack us on conspiracy.” But the pack knows better and keeps a plan to themselves. Going in blind is something both Jacob and Sam were always reluctant to do. Wolves plan: Attack beside every single vampire; tear down anyone in your way. Vague but agreeable to both pack leaders. Soon enough the presence is felt and the crunching of the snow underneath feet is heard from miles away. Poppy looks to the woods to give Seth one last smile before going to her family’s side. They exchange looks of goodbyes not wanting to say it out loud; saying it would make it all too real. Now all that is left is to wait. 


	46. Golden Halo

To say Poppy was anxious about meeting the Volturi again would be an understatement; she was scared shitless. She knew Aro wanted her as a vampire, but now that she’s a hybrid there was no telling what Aro might do to her or the Cullens. It was safe to assume that Alec had told him everything about her new phasic which meant Poppy needed to be on guard and ready to leave for everyone’s sake. She might need to leave everything behind.   
“They’re here.” Edward whispers. In time the sounds of crunching snow and branches cracking underneath boots are echoing through Poppy’s ears. It rings like a scary lullaby in her head as she watches the shadows of the Volturi’s cloaked figures approaching. They are in no hurry, but advance with deliberate slowness and confidence. As they move into position, a few feet in front of the Cullens and their allies, additional vampires appear behind the Volturi to witness the show of force. The looks on the chosen witnesses are those of outrage and filled with the want to see Bella punished for creating Reneesme.   
“We’re out numbered.” Poppy whispers to Carlisle and Edward.   
“They have strategies in place, but they’re all to destroy and acquire. Aro doesn’t count their witnesses, right? He just wants an audience?” Edward asks.  
“Technically, no Aro never counts on their witnesses,” Poppy started, “but depending on how powerful Aro thinks we are he may just use them… if necessary.”   
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Carlisle whispers. Suddenly the howls of the pack sound causing the Volturi to halt their advance. They watch in surprise when the wolves show their whole numbers; seventeen came crawling out under the thick fog coating the forest. Poppy glances back at them and notices how small most of them are. She frowns realizing that the Quileute’s have risked their entire existence on this confrontation by standing with the Cullens. This just stirs up Poppy’s anger more, but a warm heat comforts her. Seth nudges her slightly making sure she doesn’t lose her temper, which was a mission he gave himself. Still even though somewhat calmer, Poppy couldn’t shake the anger inside herself.   
With the Volturi at a standstill the two armies assess each other before Carlisle steps forward, taking advantage of the hesitation to address Aro. “Aro let us discuss things as we used to, in a civilized manner.” Carlisle starts calmly.   
“Fair words Carlisle. But a little out of place considering the army staring back at us.” Aro says with his signature creepy smile. With his scent so close and strong Poppy had to clench her fist in order to keep her emotions calm. All the images of the past were written on his face making it the target of all her anger; making it the one thing she wanted to rip off.   
“I can assure you that was never my intent. No laws have been broken here.” Carlisle answers.  
“We see the child,” Caius says, “Do not treat us as fools.” He threatens with his pale face twisted up in anguish.  
“She is not an immortal!” Carlisle shouts to everyone in the clearing. “These witnesses can attest to that. Or look for yourself… see the flush of human blood in her cheeks!”  
“Artifice!” Caius challenges before being silenced by Aro’s hand.   
“I will collect every facet of the truth…” Aro spits the words like he’s planning to toy with the Cullens, “But from someone more central to the story.” He looks past the left of Carlisle to look at Edward, but notices Poppy. His smile curls up in a sadistic manner, but Poppy keeps her ground solid before lifting her head up to show she isn’t afraid; even if it was a lie. “Edward I assume you are involved.” Aro declares lifting his hand out for Edward to take. Poppy watches as her brother looks at his family before walking calmly to Aro’s hand. Suddenly she sees the lightness of Bella’s power following Edward; she quickly grabs Bella’s hand.  
“No!” Poppy whispers, “If he can’t read Edwards thoughts it’ll be a red flag.” Bella looks at her with sad eyes before pulling her cloud back. Instead the sisters create a huge shield over their allies while tightening their grips on each other’s hands. Everyone on both sides of the clearing grows tenser as Aro reads Edward’s memories, all of them, for the last month. His expression changes so many times it became difficult to read how he felt about the situation.  
“I’d like to meet her.” Aro confesses as he finishes with Edward. Slowly Edward contemplates the situation before looking to Bella. Poppy rubs her arm before letting go to step back, but Bella stops her.  
“Come with us please.” She asks more like a demand.   
“I don’t think I should be close to them. It might put you guys in more danger.” Poppy explains frantically.   
“But you’re the only one here I trust that knows everything about the Volturi. Please we need you.” Poppy thinks and looks back at Seth, who gives her a little nod, before she agrees. They walk forward with Jacob and Poppy behind them until Bella glances at Emmett who immediately comes to their side. As the group walks forward Poppy takes deep breaths to calm herself before noticing that Demetri and Felix have join Aro’s side; obviously they weren’t the only ones scared of an outcome. It was hard for Poppy to see everyone she thought she once knew. Now there were so many uncertainties about who knew what Aro’s plan was and who didn’t. Were any of them in the dark like she was or was she always alone? As Bella and Reneesme stop in front of Aro, Jacob, Emmett, and Poppy spread out closely behind them. Poppy reminds herself what’s at stake here and pushes all scared and negative thoughts away only to reel in the aggressiveness of her nature.   
“Ahh young Bella,” Aro practically sings. “Immortality becomes you.” He gazes from Bella to Poppy directly behind Reneesme. The sound of the humming bird and broken metronome hearts play together in a symphony that draws Aro’s eyes nearly out of his sockets. “Looks as though she isn’t the only one with a strange heart, hmm?” he enquires. Poppy smirks as she feels her wolf blood boil and lets her grey eyes reveal the golden halo surrounding her iris. When Aro smile disappears she chuckles before looking at the rest of the Volturi, paying more attention to Caius. He audibly gasps and takes a step back before regaining his composure. ‘Now they all know.’ Poppy says to herself making Edward smirk a little as well. Poppy puts her hand on Reneesme’s shoulder before Bella looks at her daughter lovingly. With all the courage in the world Reneesme confidently walks up to their enemies.   
“Hello Aro.” She says remembering all of Poppy’s teachings. Aro smiles down at her and offers his hand, but she plainly looks down at it not knowing what to do. Looking up at him she raises her tiny hand to his cheek and shares all she knows. Amazement graces the eyes of Aro’s face as he watches Reneesme’s entire life.  
“Magnifico…” he whispers to no one. Pulling away immediately Aro address the clearing, “Half mortal, and half immortal. Carried and conceived by this new born while she was still human.”   
“Impossible…” Caius shouts. Aro’s head snaps back at him giving the deadliest look he can manage.  
“Do you think they fooled me brother?” he asks sending chills down Caius back. Immediately Team Nessie turns to go back to their place when Jacob snaps at Caius making him jump and Poppy audibly giggle. The two wolves stay back letting the vampires walk away further before following after them. Poppy listens intently as Aro, Caius and even Marcus argue over the matter at hand. Again all there is to do now is wait for an agreement. 


	47. Sweet Demise

Tensions increase as the confrontation between the Volturi and the Cullens continues. Edward motions for the allies to come closer together as Caius begins to argue with Aro. Poppy noticed how annoyed Caius looks as he continuously questioned his brothers about not actively moving to destroy the accused. With Aro’s constant recognition of the fact the Reneesme is not an immortal child it gives the Cullens a glimpse of hope. But Poppy knows better than to get her hopes up. She knew that they would try to find another reason to destroy them and she was right.   
“But are we just going to just overlook the fact that they’ve pledged an allegiance to these werewolves! Our natural enemies!” Caius shouts bringing the witnesses attention to another matter. “The Cullens have aligned with the Children of the Moon in order to increase their numbers and overthrow our authority!” he continues.   
“Excuse me, but they are not Children of the Moon.” Poppy states matter-of-factly. “If you were to look up and notice it’s the middle of the day. They can’t possibly be werewolves, but shape-shifters… isn’t that right Aro.” She says smiling at her once master. Aro sighs before looking to her with a sinister grin; it was true that Poppy learned everything she could on werewolves and shapeshifter in the Volturi library. Sometimes even Aro would recommend reading material for her.  
“Yes, my child. Though these creatures think of themselves as werewolves, they are not. A more accurate name for them would be shapeshifters.” Aro reiterates to Caius. Poppy smirks at the Volturi before crossing her arms over her chest.   
“They’re form is coincidental, not to mention their condition is genetic and not infectious. So you can relax your pretty little head, Caius.” She says making the field erupt with giggles. “Instead of worrying about them why don’t we get back to the topic at hand?” Poppy says trying to end this as quickly as possible. If they still hadn’t shined the limelight on her hybrid-ness maybe the Volturi were considering her to be void; which was fine by Poppy. Or they were just scared of her.  
“Very well,” Caius snarls, “Bring the informer forward.” He motions to the back of him and a guard member pushes Irina in front of the two armies. He points to Reneesme, “Is that the child you saw?”  
Looking panicked, Irina’s eyes shift nervously until she lets her head fall, “I’m not sure.”   
“Jane.” Caius threatens.  
“She’s changed!” Irina cries before Jane can torment her. “This child is bigger.”  
“Then you’re allegations were false.” Caius declares.  
“The Cullens are innocent; I take full responsibly for my allegations. There is no reason to continue here…” she looks from Caius to Bella, “I’m so sorry.” In an instant the Volturi torch is lit and Felix breaks Irina’s arms off in a swift motion.   
“Caius no!” Edward shouts.  
“Irina!” Her sisters Kate and Tanya cry as they begin to charge forward. Bella and Poppy help Reneesme on to Jacobs back before turning to the scene unfolding before them. Ally after ally try to hold the sisters back, but fail until Garrett grabs ahold of Kate. Tanya makes it past Amun and Carlisle when Poppy runs and shoves her back into two others arms.  
“Blind them!” Edwards tells Zafrina who immediately does so.   
“Give me my sight back!” Tanya yells as she huffs and puffs with fury.  
“Tanya this is what they want. If you attack now we’ll all die.” With a heavy sigh she nods before Edward motions to Zafrina who takes back her powers. Poppy suddenly feels a cold chill run down her spine as she watches her brother walk back to Bella. ‘The shield!’ she thinks to herself. Before she can alert Bella Edward falls down to his knees in pain as a sinister smile spread over Jane’s face. Poppy quickly goes to his aid, but sees a light mist overcome them. She looks back to see Bella concentrating; she’s finally doing it on her own. Helping Edward up they go to Bella’s side and share a smile.  
“It’s working.” Poppy exclaims. They notice Jane looking around franticly as her powers begin to fail her. Suddenly Jane strides forward before Alec stops her; he shushes her before stepping forward and opening his hands. “Oh shit.” Looking for Seth, Poppy releases a sigh of relief seeing the mist over him as well. Alec’s powers were always the scariest for her even though Aro hardly used it. The dark fog began to make its way to the allies, but hit the wall of Bella’s shield. Pushing forward it cascaded upward revealing the dome like shield around Team Nessie. Poppy gasped in awe at how powerful Bella had become in just the few days of training they had. With the cold winter winds blowing the dark smoke blew away swiftly only revealing the angered looks of the Volturi.  
“Aro you see there are no laws broken.” Carlisle questions.  
“Ahh yes,” Aro starts as he begins to walk forward. “There is no law broken… however, does it then follow that there is no danger?” he parades in front of the two covens like a crocked lawyer in court. “This amazing child… if we could, but know her potential- know with absolute certainty that she could always remain hidden within the oblivion that protects us. But we know nothing of what she will become!” he shouts as his evil grin infects the rest of the Volturi aside from Marcus’ bored expression. He turns to his witness with a flap of his black cloak, “Her own parents are overwhelmed by fears of her future. We cannot know what she will grow to be. Spare ourselves a fight today… only to die tomorrow.” Whispers from the witnesses plague the field as the fear of the unknown sets in. Team Nessie looks to their loved ones with the cold chill of their demise in the air. Expressing loving looks Poppy turns from her family to look at Seth; the love of her life. If they were to die here and now she would be content knowing that she found her soulmate. He prances over to her making the corners of her lips twist up in a smile. She scratches the top of his head before hugging him gently. Moving his snout up she pecks his wet nose tenderly and notices the loving look in his eyes.   
“I love you too Seth.” 


	48. Fugitive

“To finally bring this to an end… my brothers and I will vote, but before that,” Aro says as he turns to face the Cullens and their allies. Seth and Poppy remain near Jacob hoping to fend off anyone trying to keep Reneesme from escaping. With his smile never faltering, Aro opens his arms, “For those of you with tremendous talent please come forward and seek forgiveness. We will spare your lives and give you a place in our guard. You need only to repent… Bella, Benjamin, Zafrina, Kate.” He announces the people he interested as if they were actor auditioning for a role. Much to his dismay everyone he’s mentioned refuses, “Such a shame.” He whines. Suddenly Aro’s eyes fall on Poppy’s tender hold on Seth, “What about you my dearest Poppy? Will you not come home?” he could feel the love seeping off Seth as well as Jacob. The little thought of maybe having a shape-shifter tribe under his fingers sends chills down his spine.  
“I am home Aro.” She proclaims with her head held high. His smile disappears as the words echo in his ears. With a flap of his cape he turns around to take his place in the power triangle before turning to face the Cullens again.   
“Brothers, should we destroy this child? Along with anyone in our way?” Aro asks with a hint of amusement in his grim voice.  
“My vote is… yes.” Caius announces with no hesitation.  
“My vote is no.” Marcus solemnly utters in his mouse of a voice. Aro snaps his head at Marcus, but makes no move since his mind is already made up. With a triumph stance he begins to open his mouth to declare his position when Edward steps forward.  
“Wait! What if you were sure she could remain concealed from the human world? Could we leave in peace?”  
“Of course,” Aro begins, “but you yourself are unsure of what is to become of her future. That can’t possibly be known.” Suddenly Alice and Jasper appear in the middle of the clearing. They smile to their family before looking back at the Volturi.  
“Actually it can.” Alice says sweetly. “I’ve brought my own witnesses. This is someone who will give us more insight into the future of the child.”   
“We have enough witnesses!” Caius shouts. As Aro silences him with a hand, two figures appear from the fog coating the forest. Their clothes are that similar to Zafrina and Senna’s, making it obvious they’re from and indigenous tribe. They walk slowly with so much confidence it startles almost everyone watching. Poppy noticed the how the man had dark brown eyes while the women had the normal red eyes. The young male had a heartbeat much like Reneesme’s, but much stronger in sound. Putting two and two together she smirked to herself, ‘Another half breed’ Poppy thinks. She listens intently to the conversation held between the man and the Volturi. Nahuel, the other half breed, was extremely thorough when explaining about the circumstances of his birth.   
“A vampire named Joham seduced my mother. She ran away with my aunt Huilen,” she motioned to the beautiful women to his left, “so that she could carry me to term. My mother died giving birth to me and I bit my aunt which ultimately turned her.” Poppy found it odd to hear that he was able to turn humans, but at the same time found his whole existence fascinating.  
“Now you know why everyone is always taken in by you.” Edward whispers.   
“I guess,” Poppy chuckles, “But then again that only applies to non-vampires. In our little community the fear seems to take over the fascination don’t ya think?”  
“Touché.” Edward replies before ruffling her hair. Question after question fly to Nahuel as the curious begin to grow fidgety. The listeners learn that: Nahuel reached maturity about seven years after his birth and hasn’t aged since then. Male half-breeds are venomous, but females are not. He can survive off human food as well as blood and that his father had created others half-breeds in plans to create a new ‘super-race’. Much to Poppy’s surprise Aro had never heard of this plan or Joham and began to make plans to discipline him in the future.   
“Does this mean you are going to leave Reneesme alone?” Carlisle asks trying to reel their thoughts back to the matter at hand.   
“Hmm it seems that I am inclined to vote no to destroying the child since there is no danger here. This evidence seems up to par, so we will retreat on that matter.” The Cullens releases sighs of relief and begin to celebrate to themselves, “But…” Aro interrupts the happiness, “I’m afraid the fugitive you’ve been hiding needs to come with us.”  
“Fugitive?” Carlisle repeats as a question.  
“Yes, fugitive! The other little half-breed that you’ve been keeping as a pet must come with us.” Caius points out Poppy. It was no secret that he was never her biggest fan, but now that she was practically his ultimate fear he wasn’t too shy about showing his emotions.   
“Poppy darling you must come with us.” Aro says extending out his hand. “To up hold the written law.”   
“There is no law against me!” Poppy shrieks causing the Volturi side to flinch in pain. “I have broken no law nor have I betrayed you. The grounds you hold against me are nothing, but your hunger for more power!” Again her cries ripple through the crowd of vampires and send most of them down on their knees. Team Nessie watches in awe at the act before them. No one had seen Poppy’s powers to their full affect which seemed to make her statement all the more true. Aro wanted her powers for himself, but the Cullens and the packs were never gonna let her go so easily.   
“Aro she’s right. You cannot take her for nothing.” Carlisle says.   
“You see her now. She cannot be control; she must be put somewhere safe.” Aro argues. “Besides a Child of the Moon is no ally to us… even if she is just half of that being. Poppy will come with us.” Poppy bites her lip to keep from saying anything else; to keep her powers in check. She runs a hand through her hair before releasing a frustrated sigh. Delivering on last peck to Seth’s furry head she steps forward out of the dome shield.   
“Fine. I’ll go with you just leave my family alone.” She demands letting the halo around her iris shine brightly. Seth whines in the background trying to follow her, but she pushes him back.  
“No!” Carlisle yells. “I won’t let you do this.”  
“You can’t stop me, Carlisle.” Her eyes begin to show a tint of red as she tries to hold back her tears. “You… all of you are the only thing I have. I’ll do anything to keep you safe.” With one last look she blows a huff of air before making her way to Aro. She walks with pride and not even an ounce of fear in her eyes. As she walks up to Jasper she delivers a sad smile before continuing her stride, but Alice quickly follows behind her. Once Poppy grabs Aro’s cold hand Alice swiftly touches the joined limbs to deliver a vision. With the vision playing out in Aro’s eyes and Poppy’s hand touching them both, he feels everything. All the deaths, the emotions, the pain he feels the vision as if it was actually happening. Startled by the ending Aro quickly retracts his hands from both sisters, “Now you see… that’s you’re future.” Alice explains, “Unless you decide on another course.”   
Aro is silent; the trauma of the vision lingers in his eyes as he looks checks his surrounding for anything out of place. “It felt so real.” He looks at Poppy with wide eyes realizing how powerful she’d become. He was terrified.   
“We will not alter our course!” Caius shouts before grabbing Alice’s arm harshly, “The monster will be coming with us!”   
“Don’t touch her!” Poppy growls before grabbing his wrist and bending it backwards. She shoves Alice into Jaspers arms before easily breaking Caius’ appendage off. Screaming out Caius falls to his knees while holding the chuck of stone left from the break. Felix and Demetri grab her shoulders and neck to try to break her apart, but she’s too strong. Poppy holds her ground before throwing her head back to crush part of Demetri’s face. Using 100% of her strength she punches Felix, causing him to fly a few feet away, before grabbing Demetri’s disoriented figure and tossing him onto of his fellow coven mate. The rest of the Volturi ready their advances when they see Poppy transforming. Her nails grew black and elongated into a deadly point, Fur began to appear on the back of her hand, her canines grew and sharpened out of her mouth, and her eyes turned their bright silver in a blink of an eye. A powerful aura surrounded Poppy as she stood there ready to take on the whole army in front of her. The Volturi were sharing looks of horror before retreating into the forest. Caius alone stood at the edge shooting daggers at Poppy from a great distance.  
“This is not over, monster.” He whispers for her to hear. She snarls causing him to flinch and flee.   
The Cullens watch as Poppy keeps up her fighting stance. Carlisle begins to make his way over to her before Emmett stops him. He shakes his head gently as he takes his father’s place and begins walking to his little sister.   
“Poppy?” he calls softly. “Poppy they’re gone now. Everything is alright.” He slowly places a hand on her shoulder making her flinch. She sharply turns to stare at him with her teeth bared. He readies himself for an impact, but is surprised with a smile. Poppy blinks and her normal grey eyes are back, her canines retreat back into her mouth, and her hands grow back to normal. A sigh of relief is let out in the crowd as Poppy scrunches up her face.  
“Looks like the Volturi might hate us even more now.” She admits. Laughter erupts from the Cullens as the exchange hugs and smiles. Honestly they were all a little worried about what’s to become of the feud between the two covens, but none of that mattered at the moment. All they cared about was that they were all still together. A big happy family instead of a strong coven was what the Volturi never saw in them. It was the love they had for each other that kept them alive in the clearing. 


	49. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay!!! This is the ending to the story; I hoped you guys liked it. This story had been stuck in my head since forever so I’m completely over the moon at the fact that I’ve finally gotten to share it.   
> I’m so much in love with this story (as much as I hope you guys are) that I’d be willing to make a sequel to Seth and Poppy’s relationship. I have a ton of ideas about how they’d change and if the Volturi would come back or not, but I’m uncertain if I’m going to go through with it.   
> Please let me know you opinion. Would you like a sequel or should I leave it at this?   
> Thank you to those who stuck it out till the end! I love all of you!

The peaceful thought of freedom lurked through the woods surrounding the Cullen house as each witness said goodbye. One by one each vampire coven departed to their own homes. Poppy watched and waved from afar with Seth closely beside her. Some of them came up to her unafraid of the monster hiding within her yet others still grew weary of the control she had. But none of that bothered her in the slightest… as long as everyone was safe she was happy. As Kate and Garrett, the last ones to leave, make their way to the cars Seth chuckles deeply before snaking his hand around Poppy’s waist.   
“They make a good pair don’t you think?” he asks as he leans his head on the tops of hers. She hums in agreement as they watch the cars disappear into the horizon. Turning to the woods Poppy watches as the sun begins to fade away. The young couple decides to take a stroll near the river separating the two territories. With the excitement finally at rest it was easy for them to get away and be completed comfortable. As Seth runs around like a child on a playground Poppy can’t help, but smile at her love. He was so full of life that it practically radiated off of him, “Look Pops, a frog!” he exclaimed as it hopped around trying to get away from them. Noticing a perfect tree for climbing she pats him on the shoulder.  
“Come on lets go up at watch the stars come out.” She offers. He nods in excitement before pulling her into a run for the tree. They climb and giggle while sharing small kisses on the way up. When they reach a perfect branch they sit and hold each other. One after another stars make themselves known, letting the couple capture the beauty that makes up the night sky.   
“Were you scared Pops?” Seth suddenly asks.  
“Scared of the Volturi?”  
“Yea well scared to face the Volturi? Were you scared when you stood up to them?” Poppy thought for a second, not knowing how to answer.   
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, but once I knew they were determined to take me it switched. I had to push my fear deep down just in case they’d try to come after you guys.” She admits.  
“You’re so brave Poppy.” He kisses her cheek tenderly, “I hope you know that if they had taken you I would’ve immediately gone after them.”  
“What! No I wouldn’t have allowed it.” she pouts.  
“I wouldn’t have asked your permission women.” He says before they both erupt in laughter. The couple playfully argues over who would have to say who and when to come to their rescue when they finally come to an ultimatum. “Okay let’s make a deal then, if anything wanted to take either of us we both have to get captured and let the family stress over a rescue plan. Deal?”  
Poppy giggles before cupping Seth’s cheek softly, “Fine deal.” She kisses him with so much passion they almost forget where they are. The love the two had for each other filled the night sky as the moon shined upon them. No one ever thought they’d make it this far, or end up together for that matter. Who knew that the strong minded hybrid would need the help of a shape-shifter to get pulled out of the Cullen’s shadow? The mysteries surrounding her powers, her being, and her mind would be something that plagued them, but at the moment it didn’t matter. Poppy, half vampire- half werewolf, the one who they all thought was doomed to spend her immortal life alone had finally found someone. And there they’d stay, alone in the trees, basking in the each other’s love for all eternity. 


End file.
